Remnant's Rebels
by sonicXben
Summary: Sander Blanco, a prodigy in his training to be a Huntsman and a Jedi, wants nothing more than to live out his new life in peace. Unfortunately, once his past comes comes back to haunt him once again, he will need to return to the battlefield. With the help of those he deeply loves, he must find the strength to bring old grudges to a close and learn more about who he really is.
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**Saturday, April 10** **th***

 **4:00 pm Remnant Time**

 **Merlot Island**

 **Sanus**

 **Remnant**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

Cold. Desolate. A perfect shelter from the rest of the world.

These are the observations Sander Blanco makes as he stares at the rocky beaches of the island he had just recently landed on. His search started when he could remember his mother's past, and he had become obsessed with learning more about his whole family. While he can remember some things about who his grandparents are, it's not enough.

Sander does not usually obsess about many things, but at least knowing what happened to the last members of his family is something worth knowing about. And right now, the last man who would know the fate of his grandparents is the man they trusted more than anyone else in his life; Dr. Merlot, founder of the late Merlot Industries. Once that revelation was reached, Sander spent weeks searching through all the databanks on anything regarding the works of Merlot Industries. The company, with its focus on "building a better tomorrow," was able to discover more about genetics and advance the creation of artificial intelligence than any other corporation in Remnant's history… but their reputation went downhill after the notorious Mt. Glenn disaster. Most of the chief staff died in the massacre, resulting in the entire company to shut their doors permanently.

But Sander has come to believe that Dr. Merlot didn't die in the tragedy. If there's good one the young Jedi Knight has to say about the obsessive scientist, it's that he is a man who always prepares for when his ideas go sideways. Once Sander came to that conclusion, he spent weeks reaching out through the Force to try and find him. While the search has become tiresome, he did manage to feel a weakening presence on a distant island outside Sanus.

Of course, his secrecy didn't last. During his first year as a Huntsman-in-Training at Beacon Academy, he became one of the most popular boys in the whole academy and made many friends; the closest being his team, Team SPAM, along with Teams JNPR and RWBY. Of course, people were shocked when it became common knowledge that he and Yang Xiao Long, who is considered one of the hottest girls, were close friends, but then many of those same people became (and still are) outraged when they found out the duo started their own relationship. What those people didn't realize was that like Sander, Yang is strong with the Force and it was only with her support that he survived the many challenges that arose during their time at Beacon, such as the day that his mother died; hard to believe that it was only eight months since that fateful day. After being constantly grilled by said friends for a week, he caved and told them his idea.

All of his friends, especially Yang, became suspicious and concerned, but they eventually decided to let him go. Then, after days of gathering the needed food for what could be a prolonged trip and wearing the same attire he wore during the infamous last stand of the White Fang, with some minor changes, Sander rented a speed boat and spent the last few hours riding to the very island he is at now.

As Sander gets off his speed-boat, which he docks at a shabby wooden dock that looks like it was built centuries ago, with a large, tattered wooden gate on his left. Sander shakes his head, amazed that the gate is even holding up, before walking to the right, towards a narrow opening that leads further into the island. Suddenly, he stops in place and closes his eyes, listening intently for any disturbance. At first, nothing. Then his eyes snap open and pulls his most trusted lightsaber, which he named Star Blaster, off his new black leather belt and activates it. The white lightsaber activates and he lifts it up to block the incoming strike.

The lightsaber clashes with the center of a red bo-staff with dangerously sharp blades on each end that have glowing blue tips. Holding the weapon is a red robot a whole head taller than Sander, with thick red armor plating, black under-armor plating, and blue stripes running across his body. But the most notable aspect of the android is that in the center of its thick chestplate is a familiar symbol; the symbol of Merlot Industries. "Where the hell did you come from exactly?" Sander asks, confused. Never once in his search did he come across any evidence that Merlot owned any factories that mass-produced robots.

The robot doesn't speak, just pushes with all its might against Sander. The young Jedi then hears the sound of another approaching robot right behind him, and he smirks. He jumps upward with all his might, spinning backwards and narrowly avoiding a wide sweep by the second android that tried to ambush Sander. The attack leaves a deep gash in the first robot's armor. It recovers from the strike and after they turn towards Sander, they charge forward. Smirking, Sander de-activates the lightsaber and uses his thumb and index finger on his right hand to twist the nob at the bottom of the weapon. He lifts his other arm, his cybernetic arm, to block another slash from the nearest robot before lifting Star Blaster up to its face, in shotgun mode. He fires instantly, and the Dust bullets cause the robot's head to be severely damaged and recoil. The Jedi then leaps into the air, changing the weapon once more. When he is falling back to the ground, he swipes his double-edged dark gold sword and cuts the damaged robot's head off. The body falls to the ground, sparking. As Sander stands up again, he notices the other robot fast approaching. It gets into a solid stance and jabs its spear at Sander, only for him to dodge the attack and stab the sword through its head. The machine whirs in protest before finally shutting down.

"Well," he says, brushing some dirt off his thick black jacket, "I guess this won't be a quiet trip after all. Suckers." As he proceeds towards the passageway, he finally notices the great number of crates lying around, all of them bearing the mark of the Schnee Dust Company. "I should have known that Jacques was a supplier of Merlot. That stuck-up bastard certainly has a way of finding the shadiest partners. Weiss, you really a long way to go to fix everything he's screwed up." He mutters with sadness, then walks through the small tunnel to the other side, where a metal gate is blocking the way to a giant warehouse with a water route.

"This is too easy." Sander states, then walks towards the pad-locked gate. Using his cybernetic arm, he crushes the aging metal chains and proceeds to pull the gate open. Walking through the gateway, he walks to the shut metal gate. "Curious. Where are you hiding, Merlot?" He asks as he holds his human hand and lifts it up. The gate immediately responds, lifting up until it reaches the top. Casually, Sander strolls through the aged entryway to the warehouse, which has a connection to the ocean.

All around him are crates that contain various symbols and crests, such as Beacon Academy, Schnee Dust Company, and… Sander looks on with sadness when he notices a wooden crate in the corner bearing red lightning in the middle of a black circle; the symbol of Blanco Energy Company's famous engines. It is truly sad that the pioneers of engine-building died along-side Merlot Industries in the Mountain Glenn tragedy. Sander walks to the other side of the warehouse, then uses the Force to pull the door open once more.

But this time, when he does that, a band of eight Beowulves charge forward, led by an Alpha Beowulf. "Whoa!" He shouts in shock, jumping backwards and somersaulting before landing on his feet. "Fuck, that was close. Looks like you boys need a fight." He then twists the nob at the bottom once more, and the movable parts start shifting into place, changing into his lightsaber. He activates it and stabs it into the nearest Beowulf's head, making it disintegrate into black smoke. He then swings the saber in a 360 motion in a mere second, cutting in half four more Beowulves. Another three charge at Sander, but he uses the Force to hold them in place, allowing him to throw the lightsaber like a boomerang, cutting off their head before turning to face the Alpha. It roars in fury, before charging forward. Sander also charges forward, holding his lightsaber blade out in front of him. The elder Grimm lets out a battle cry and slashes to the left, but Sander knew about the attack. He ducks under the slash and slashes at its stomach. It lets out a cry of pain before slashing at him once more, only for Sander to jump over the arm and lunge past its head. Star Blaster cuts the Grimm's head off and the corpse falls to the ground, its corpse turning to smoke.

"Nailed it." Sander says, keeping Star Blaster activated in case more Grimm decide to show up. "Next time, keep in mind that I know every attack you make before you make it." He adds, tapping his head before moving on. In addition to learning about how to be a proper Huntsman through fighting and studying, he also learned that through his mother, Salem, he has access to several abilities, such as feeling every impulse the Grimm has; whether it is charging, lunging, tunneling under the ground, or even slashing at opponents, Sander can feel it all.

The Huntsman-in-training walks along the rocky pathway before arriving at a run-down tower, with massive green pipes on either side, along with a yellow crate bearing Beacon's crest. Suddenly, Sander stops when he feels a light vibration in the top pocket of his khaki pants. "What the hell? I thought I'd be way too far out to be getting any good reception." Sander says before pulling out his Scroll. The caller ID is listed as 'Unknown.' "Huh. Well, here goes nothing." Sander then pushes the 'Call' button and puts it on speaker.

"Ah, nice to finally talk to you. You are my first guests since… well, you are my first guest." The caller on the other line says with a casual air about him.

Sander stares at his Scroll in shock before laughing slightly. "Well, well, well. I finally get to take to the great Dr. Merlot."

"So, you know who I am." He asks, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Oh, yes I do. In fact, I came here to talk to you in person." Sander replies crisply, noticing the setting sun. He wants to return to Beacon as soon as possible; this island is starting to give him the creeps.

"Have you, now? Well, I will answer anything you wish to know about, my mysterious guest. But not here. Make it to my base in the center of the island, and assuming you survive the Grimm and my own army of androids, I shall reward you with knowledge. See you then, chum." The call then cuts off and like that, Merlot is gone.

"Shit." Sander mutters, putting the Scroll back in his pocket. He then looks straight ahead, to a massive field where large pillars of steam are rising in the air. Before the Jedi can proceed onward, he feels a slight tremor in the ground. "Oh, boy. Only Creeps can do this." He then somersaults backwards, avoiding getting eaten by an Alpha Creep as it burrows out of the ground, slamming its mouth shut. The lizard-like Grimm then turns towards Sander and growling. Seconds later, another two dozen Grimm, led by another Alpha Creep, come running towards him, all of them roaring with blood lust.

The young Jedi sighs before lifting up his hands and concentrating on the Force. At first, he feels his connection to the Force deepen, until he feels that boiling of energy inside him. Sander concentrates heavily to repress that power once more since he has no true knowledge on its limits, until he hears a small voice speaking in his head. It's almost impossible to tell, but the voice seems feminine and vaguely familiar.

" _Aren't you curious as to what you can achieve with your gifts? For one moment, let go and reap the rewards."_

To Sander's surprise, he feels himself loosen his ever-present grip on the mysterious power. Once the army of Creeps passes through the shadow of the cliff-side on the right due to the setting sun, a thick black mist forms along the ground, within the massive shadow. The Creeps begun sinking into the shadowy ground. The Grimm screech in pain as they dissolve into the black mist and disappear without a trace. Slowly, Sander looks down at his hands in shock. "What in the world?" He mutters shakily, before clenching his fists. "No. I will worry about it later; my mission comes first." He then walks towards the narrow path that the Creeps came from, following the long pipes until he reaches the other side.

"Whoa." Sander mutters, staring out at the barren, rocky fields. The pipes continue to travel down the narrow pathway along with numerous processing tanks and crates bearing the Merlot Industries logo are lying on their side, but lying on the ground, their glow visible even in the setting sun, are puddles of a strange green fluid. "Okay, it's official. This place smells worse than our toilet after Taco Tuesday, and I didn't think it was possible. Penny Goodwitch, why didn't you tell us that Alec has an addiction for tacos… with extra helpings of beans, no less? Gods, we had to vacate our dorm until the stench went away. Best stay away from those pools." He then starts running towards the massive mountain looming in front of him, through the narrow pathway and scooting around the pools, even using the Force to jump over a busted pipe letting out steam, until he reaches a massive distillery planet, with dozens of tanks filled with the same green fluid and three more pools on the ground. But this time, the path is hampered by more steam.

"Oh, great. Here I go." Sander mutters, then notices a valve on the far right. Deciding that it would be worth a shot, Sander walks towards the valve. But before he can turn it, he feels a monstrous presence behind him and he whirls around. His eyes widen in horror when he witnesses a Beowulf crawling out of the pool, but instead of a normal Alpha Beowulf, it has dozens of spikes on its back and they are all glowing the same neon green as the liquid. It roars before charging forward. While Sander was able to act on instinct and roll under the mutant Beowulf's legs before it could slash, he is still disturbed by how he couldn't feel anything from the Grimm. Luckily, Sander was able to jump as high as he can and after whirling around to face the Grimm's back, points his cybernetic hand at the Grimm's back and a spear of bright yellow fire shoots forward and impales the Grimm through the back. He then manipulates the fire to wrap around the Grimm's neck, making it shriek in pain as Sander pulls out Star Blaster still in sword-mode and stabs it in the Grimm.

It lets out a final whimper of pain before falling to the ground, dead. Sander has no time to celebrate his victory before he notices a dozen Mutant Creeps drinking from the substance at the base of the cliff he's on, scraps of more red androids, along with a few white androids, lying on the ground. "Heh. They won't see this coming." Sander says, then conjures a five-feet long spear made of glowing yellow fire and thrusts it at the closest. The Mutant Creep shrieks in pain from getting stabbed before shaking violently. Seconds later, it explodes and sets off a chain reaction with its comrades, who also explode and cause small green and black mushroom clouds to rise into the air. "That was fucking spectacular**. Though it may have been unnecessary." Sander rubs his chin in thought before shrugging and returning to the valve.

He then twists it to the right, with some resistance since it is extremely old, though Sander has no difficulty. After a long moment, the steam that hindered his progression was gone. Smirking at his progression, Sander runs along the pipes, taking the left path. Once he reaches the other side, he notices three Mutant Beowulves charging towards him. "Didn't I just leave this party?" Sander asks before switching Star Blaster over to its lightsaber form and activating it, allowing him to slash at the Beowulves. He cuts one of the Beowulves' legs off then proceed to stab it in the back of the head, before swinging it around and cutting off the head of the second. The third one manages to slash at Sander's back, but he channels his Aura into the Dust-infused blue bandana on his right arm and creates a brief force field around himself, stopping any harm. As the monstrosity of a Grimm is dazed, Sander lunges forward and thrusts the lightsaber into the Mutant's chest. The two topple backward and the Grimm anchors itself into the ground as it begins dissolving into nothing, the green liquid starting to separate from the black smoke.

To the Jedi's horror, his dark golden Aura flares up upon contact with the liquid as it seeps into the crevices of the rocky ground. "Okay, seriously. What even is this stuff?" Sander asks, incredulous.

Sander continues running down the narrow rocky path until he reaches a boxed-in area, with metal plates lying on the ground and forming a square shape, with the path being blocked by more steam. Before Sander can find the valves, he watches as six glowing-blue orbs appear in the air before they disappear and are replaced by three red androids wielding their bo-staffs and three white androids, which are much bulkier and wielding miniguns. "That's it. You're not going to stop me from doing what I came here to do." Sander shouts before using every ounce of his physical training to run towards the steam, barely dodging the androids as the red androids try to slash at him and the white androids lob grenades at him. Then, in one fluid motion, the Jedi leaps towards the left cliff-side and using the cliff as a springboard, leaps to the pathway on the other side of the steam barricade, leaving a band of angry androids on the other side.

Smirking in triumph, Sander starts running down the metal bridge that is suspended over the largest pool of the green substance yet. After a long minute, he reaches the end of the pathway and jumps into the air, spinning three times, before landing at the bottom. He then stands up and looks at the massive gates that lead into the looming mountain, which is glowing with the sun as it finishes setting. As Sander makes his way towards the massive gate, it suddenly starts lifting up. The Jedi Huntsman-in-training stops in place and pulls out his sword, ready for what else is to come. Sure enough, as the door finishes lifting up, the largest Deathstalker Sander has ever seen in his life, even bigger than the ones he met during his journey to Mistral over a decade ago, crawls out. As if that wasn't enough, it bears the green highlights of a Grimm who was infected by the same green substance that is abundant on the island, topped up with a glowing green stinger. "Well, I'm looking forward to this." Sander says, already formulating a plan on how to dispose of the enemy in front of him as he transforms Star Blaster into lightsaber form. The mutant roars in challenge but simply remains where it is, its pincers snapping violently and what seems to be a glowing green foam forming in its mouth. Sander gets into a fighting stance and makes the 'your move' gesture. Angered at the taunt, the Grimm charges forward at the fastest speed it can go, smashing through metal pipes filled with the green substance as it goes. But Sander simply stands there, waiting. When the Deathstalker is just about on top of him, Sander slashes upward and cuts off before slashing downward. The mutant Grimm screeches in pain as both pincers are sliced off in one swing. In an effort to take down Sander, several large green spikes fly out from the stinger and try to kill the Jedi. Sander dodges all but one of the spikes, but his Aura manages to stop any severe damage from happening. He then runs at the Grimm and uses its head as a springboard to leap higher into the air. In mid-air, he swings the lightsaber around and severs the stinger from the tail.

It screeches in pain as the stinger punches through its bone armor, severely damaging its main body. Concentrating heavily, Sander charges forward and stabs the blade into its mouth while it is flailing around. The mutant lets out a fainter screech before collapsing to the ground and dissolving into black smoke. Sander lets out a smile of triumph before falling to one knee, panting heavily. He hears a whooshing around them and as he looks around him, the world transforms. Instead of just being a barren island with the sun setting, he sees the barren fields, strange purple crystals sitting on the ground and glowing. The sky above him is dark and overcast, with ashes colored like blood raining from the clouds above. "What in the…" He asks, before feeling a new presence. He turns toward the entrance where the mutant Deathstalker came from, and sees the silhouette of three human-shaped people walking towards him. While two of them are tall and clearly men wearing loose-fitting clothes, one of their group looks more feminine and is wearing some kind of battle armor. He glares up at the man in the middle who is slowly approaching; he can't explain why, but Sander feels nothing but pure rage burning inside of him upon laying eyes on the approaching person. But as the shadowed person continues walking towards him, Sander drops to all fours and surprises himself by letting out a growl of anger. "Get out. Of my head." His voice is chillingly calm, but he holds out his hand. But something is wrong; the flame that dances on his palm is pitch black. The person stops walking, staring at Sander intently. "Get out!" He then shouts, glaring up at the man who takes a step back.

Sander then feels a strange prickling all over his body as he looks down at his natural hand, which is a deathly white color rather than his normally pale skin. The tiny flame erupts into a pillar of fire and rockets towards the trio. That is, until the world starts spinning around him and he falls to the side, the fire dying out before it can reach the strangers. When he pushes himself up onto one knee again, everything is normal again, and the trio are gone. "What is going on with me?" He asks as he looks down at his hands, still feeling that fury in him. He then closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, his mind drifting off to remember the best days as a student at Beacon Academy and especially the time he spent with his new girlfriend, Yang. Steadily, the rage goes away and dissipates altogether, but instead of relief, Sander feels absolutely confused. For the first time in years, he feels truly worried at why he felt such malice towards one person.

Unless it is… no, Sander swore to himself over a decade ago that he would never mention or even think about **him** again. The Jedi is broken from his thoughts when he hears lots of loud stomping behind him, and he turns around to see dozens of Merlot's androids of both red and white model charging towards him. Sander lets out a long groan of pain before pulling himself to his feet and running to the open entryway. He continues running through the doorway, past long catwalks until he reaches a set of crates that sit near the ceiling. Sander takes advantage of the idea that forms in his head and jumps on top of one of the crates. He then uses the lightsaber to cut a hole in the ceiling and after the circle is cut out, Sander jumps into the ventilation shaft. He then follows the Force's guidance and travels down the ventilation shaft. But after a minute, he hears the voice of the man he is looking for.

"Where did he go?" Dr. Merlot asks, more than a little anger in his voice. Sander crawls towards the ventilation shaft with filters on it, allowing him to look down upon the base. Sure enough, Dr. Merlot himself, wearing a grey jacket with pressed pants, a red shirt underneath the jacket, and a very noticeable replacement arm, is standing in front of a formation of his androids awaiting his command. Sander's natural hand starts shaking violently, but he places his other hand on it. After taking a deep breath, he crawls over the filter. It gives under Sander's weight and he falls to the ground. Before the androids could react, he grabs Dr. Merlot and holds him in front of the troops. "Don't fire!" He states, looking down at the ground in defeat.

Sander smirks as the androids follow their maker's orders, and walk away without speaking a word. When it is safe, Sander lets go of Merlot. The scientist turns around to face the Jedi. What surprises Sander slightly is how quickly Merlot's facial expression changes from anger at being corned to abject shock. "Sander Blanco. Well, I knew that some nosy Huntsman found my island, but I never realized it was you."

"And how do you know who I am exactly?" Sander asks, putting the de-activated lightsaber on his belt and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, I saw your performance at the Vytal Festival. Though connection to the CCT systems are horrible often, I wasn't going to miss such a big event. That, and you look so much like your… mother, it's almost scary."

Sander stares at Merlot, very interested in what he said and especially the tone he used. But that was beside the point. "That's actually why I'm here. I know that you have had contact with my grandparents, Jules and Elizabeth, years ago."

"Let's say, hypothetically, that you are correct. What exactly are you getting at?"

"Because I've seen your records. You're not the type of person who lets go of the past so readily. Because of that, I would like to know where I can find my grandparents." To prevent Merlot from getting any funny ideas, Sander lays a hand on his lightsaber.

The scientist notices the gesture, and his expression turns fearful and solemn. "I'm… sorry, but they're dead."

"What?"

"They died many years ago. I was with the family that day, helping them adjust to their new life after the incident at Mt. Glenn. Then they arrived; men in black robes wearing some skull-shaped necklace around their neck that was probably important to some superstitious nonsense they believed in. I tried to help them, but I was knocked out. When I came to, my arm was gone." He then looks down at his robotic arm with red highlights, similar to his cybernetic eye. "And your mother, Salem, was gone."

Sander listens to the story and extends his senses through the Force to penetrate the man's mind. Pain is the foremost emotion in the man's mind, as well as flashes of the fire and the black-robed men play in his mind. Not wanting to watch any more, Sander pulls out instantly and lets out a long sigh. While he was half-expecting this, the feeling of being truly alone slams into him like a monster truck traveling at 200 miles an hour. "I see. I suppose I was expecting that answer deep down. Was there… anything else that I need to be aware of?"

Merlot scratches his chin, a pensive expression on his face. But Sander can feel the amount of thought rolling around the man's mind; he's hiding something, and the Jedi will find out what. Subtly, he uses the Force to tilt the elderly man towards trusting Sander. "Yes. But if I do tell you, will you promise to leave me here on this island, in isolation?"

Sander lets out a forced smile. "Of course."

Merlot sighs, letting his hands fall to his sides before putting them behind his back. "Your grandfather was nothing short of a genius. He taught me everything I knew about technology, how to run a corporation, he even taught me how to think outside the box when my competition gains an advantage. But he had one secret that he never told anyone else in his entire life. The ability to create power cells that do not rely on any form of Dust and be much cleaner on the environment."

"I'm aware of their existence. So why are you…" Sander stops talking as he looks up at the glowing bulbs on the ceiling. "He did. Holy shit, he actually figured out how to make those energy cells. And you use them to power your facility day after day, don't you?"

Merlot just shrugs, though a small smile forms on his face. "Well, he did have a little help from yours truly, but yes. He did complete those cells. And I have the blueprints on my Scroll."

"Great. Could you send every file you have on the energy cells?" Sander asks, pulling out his Scroll. Merlot looks angry at being ordered to do these things, but he just sighs in defeat and pulls out his own Scroll. He types on it for several moments, with Sander watching the scientists warily to make sure he doesn't pull any funny moves. When he's done, a ding can be heard on Sander's Scroll and he opens the files that are now his. Even the Jedi has to admit; the designs of these energy cells are quite impressive; they could even get so powerful, just one would be able to sustain every system on an Atlesian airship for a certain period of time. "Thank you. While I didn't find what I was looking for, I found something to truly compensate for it." And it was true; the Jedi could feel the Force telling him to take the designs since the start of that part of the conversation started. "Don't worry, you won't be seeing me again."

But as Sander begins leaving the base and makes his return to the speed boat, Merlot runs out of the base. "Wait." Sander turns around, wariness on his face. "There's one last thing that I think you should know. It's about your mother. Even from a young age, I could tell there was something wrong with her. She looked and acted nothing like her parents, and I've heard that she took pleasure in turning friends against each other. She bore the traits of a brilliant CEO… of a psychopath**."

* * *

 _AN:_ Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the prologue of Remnant's Rebels! For clarity, this story is the official sequel to 'Rise of the Jedi' and to 'Heart of Death' and those stories will be given their due respect. Whatever you do, please don't expect a structured update session for this story. I had just finished the prologue and decided to publish it now.

*I have no idea how time and dates are recorded on Remnant. But since Nora canonized the fact that days are structured the same way in RWBY as in real life (in Volume 5, which was an awesome volume), I decided to wing it and assume that the weeks and months are structured the same way. Even though we have no idea what year it is on Remnant when RWBY is taking place (maybe Miles will record it like 0 AFB [After the Fall of Beacon]).

**I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself with the Kingsman references.

I will see you all next time when things start getting more… intense.


	2. There and Back Again

**Saturday, April 20** **th**

 **8:00 pm Remnant Time**

 **Beacon Academy Library**

 **Beacon Academy**

 **Vale**

* * *

 **3rd Person POV:**

* * *

"Do you hear that? Something is coming; something that is hungry for blood."

Around a large square table on the second floor of the library, a group of five Beacon Academy students are trying out the new board game that was recently released; Huntsmen and Grimm. "A shadow grows on the wall behind you all, covering your motley band in a blanket of darkness. It is approaching."

The group, consisting of the Schnee heiress Weiss Schnee, team JNPR leader Jaune Arc, JNPR member and five-time Mistral champion Pyrrha Nikos, and half-faunus Alec Wolfenstein, sit around the circular table and listen with rapt attention, and member of Team SPAM Max Peterson, all of whom are sitting in a corner of the library while playing the game. "Who knew Penny could be such a… what is the term again?" Ruby Rose asks aloud.

"A Grimm Master." Blake Belladonna states, who is watching the game from her seat at another table. "I'd never expected her to be such a compelling storyteller, even Nora here hasn't said a word in a whole minute." Her then looks to her left, and quickly realizes that Nora is asleep, with her best friend Lie Ren just looking tired. "Well, that explains a lot."

Before they could talk any further, they return their attention to the game as Penny Goodwitch continues. "An army of Goblins charges into the Corridor of Caerbanog!" Penny shouts, then pulls a miniature silver figurine consisting of 4 short goblins wearing thick armor out from behind a standing sheet of metal decorated with mountains and Grimm of various types and setting it on the wooden board set out on the table, decorated with marble tiles.

"Oh, come on. This isn't even a challenge." Jaune says smugly, "We can take them."

Just then, Penny turns around while feigning a frightened look. "Do you hear that? An even greater force is coming towards you. Boom. Boom. **Boom**!" She suddenly smacks the table, making everyone jump slightly. "But it isn't coming from the Goblins. In fact, they are running scared from the true threat."

The group look anxious and even Weiss gulps slightly. Penny's hand then slips behind the fold-up silver sheet, pulls out a new bronze piece and slaps it on the table. "The Iron Taijitu! The great guardian who lays waste to all who dare enter this sacred ground. A guardian so powerful, it is said that only those who carries the ability to wield sacred fire shall triumph."

The whole group groans in agony. "We're so dead. I guess it's poetic that we all die due to our ice queen using up the majority of our fiery options." Alec mutters.

"You egged me into using most of it!" Weiss shouts at the half-Faunus, before turning back to the board. "Now I have to use the last of my Flame Powder."

"Be careful. When you use it, you have to roll a 13 or higher in order to have any hope of defeating this deadly opponent. Do it if you dare."

"Come on; do it! Our mission depends on you!" Jaune shouts at Weiss, who looks at the see-through red 20-sided die with sweat breaking out across her forehead. Pyrrha looks at the party leader's nervous expression with a hint of amusement.

"No! Cast a barrier spell. We need it to survive five rounds and find enough Flame Powder to make the move easier." Alec shouts at Weiss.

She looks at Alec and decides to grab the dice. "I'm going for it. Flame Wall!" She then rolls the dice as hard as she can. It ends up flying in the air and hitting Pyrrha in the nose.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Weiss says, her eye widening when she realizes what she just did.

"Don't worry about it." The red-haired huntress answers then looks down at the dice before frowning. "Sorry, Weiss, but it looks like you rolled an 11."

All of the players let out loud groans at hearing that declaration, realizing that their characters were eaten alive by the monster. "Thanks a lot." Alec says.

"You blame this on me?" Weiss demands.

"Come on! We came to do something fun." Ruby Rose says, stepping in before the fight got too serious. "How about we play Remnant: The Game again? We might actually get a chance to beat Yang's winning streak. So, what do you guys say?"

They all look around, not noticing the Yang or Sander anywhere. "I'll find them." Blake pipes up, getting up and walking away from the library. Truthfully, she has no idea where to look but decides to start at the student dorms.

As Blake walks down the halls to the team dorms, she hears faint noises coming from team SPAM's dorm. Curiosity getting the better of her, she presses her head against the door. Suddenly, the cat faunus hears some rather quiet moaning from behind the door.

"Oh, hotshot." Blake can hear Yang say, very happily. "You're so good."

"You're so too bad yourself, firecracker." Sander answers, also sounding very pleased.

Blake can feel a deep blush breaking out all over her face as she can hear them going at it. But as Blake starts stepping away from the door, the floorboard under her foot suddenly creaks…loudly. Blake winces violently at this, her eyes widening and glancing at the door.

She then starts running to team RWBY's dorm, but before she can close the door, Sander, dressed in his usual Huntsman outfit but without his jacket, nearly rips the dorm door off its hinges and glares out at the hall, his eyes instantly settling on Blake. "Oh hey, Blake, what's up?" Sander asks, leaning against the door and trying to fight a blush.

"I'm alright." Blake answers, also trying to remain calm. "I realized that I forgot to grab a book from my dorm. Sorry if I was being too loud." Sander stares at Blake for a long moment, with her on the verge of shivering, but he shrugs. "You know, the rest of the group are wondering where you guys are. But if you wish, I can…"

"No." Yang says, walking past Sander out of the room. Blake can see inside, which shows an active television with the game paused. "If Ruby's looking for us, then we better not to keep her waiting." She then looks back at her boyfriend. "Um, actually Blake, can you give us a moment?"

"Sure." Blake says slyly, then watches as the two re-enter their dorm rooms.

Despite Blake feeling guilty about it, she manages to overhear their conversation. "Look, I know that we haven't had as much time together since Ruby's been getting us to perform team-based maneuvers. I could just say no and we could…"

"Don't worry about it." Sander starts, "Besides, I'd been hearing Ruby has been practicing on Remnant: The Game to try and beat your streak. Why don't you show her you rule the game?" Then after a moment, the door opens up and they walk back out, but Sander freezes at the door. "Oh, sorry. I was going to show you guys some of those tunes I told you about. Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you." Yang nods and the two partners walk away.

Sander then walks back into the room and fetches the radio from his side of the room. But as he passes by, he notices the mirror and stares at it with a troubled expression. Strange things seem to be happening to him once more, especially the whole affair on Merlot Island. As if that wasn't enough, the more he thinks about what he thought he knew about his mother, the more holes he finds. Something isn't adding up, but what he cannot say.

He then walks out of the dorm room and down the halls of Beacon, his troubles fading into the back of his mind. But as he passes by another hallway, he looks down it. For some reason, he thought he saw a flash of blonde hair, much lighter than Yang's. Shrugging, he arrives at the library where the rest of the group is setting up the game.

"Sis! Sander!" Ruby exclaims, pulling two chairs out for them. "Where have you been?"

"I was going to get in a quick workout to forget how stressed I was on that exam for Grimm Studies." Yang answers quickly.

"Yeah, that was one bitch of an exam. I was going to read some Madness until I heard about your invitation. Decided that I'd rather spend time with you guys." Sander answers in similar fashion. Blake throws her partner's close friend a sideways glance, but decides to keep her mouth shut.

Jaune then notices the radio in Sander's hands. "Oh, hey, is that the radio you can't stop bragging about?"

"Eh, looks plain to me." Ruby says nonchalantly. "Weapons are so much cooler."

"Oh, yeah?" Sander challenges, then sets the radio down on the table. He then notices to his adoptive sister. "Hey, Weiss? You feeling okay?"

The white-haired girl looks at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, ever since you dumped Neptune when you caught him with a porn stash, you've been kind of erratic lately."

Weiss just stares back, nearly on the brink of tears. "Yes. And that he was looking at the picture of… Banon Larsony."

Sander freezes with his previous happiness slipping to confusion then shifting into anger. "Wait, what? I'll be right back." He then stands up and walks away.

The rest of the group looks at each other in confusion. "Whose Banon Larsony?" Yang asks in a slightly dangerous tone.

"Isn't that the advocate for faunus rights?" Blake asks spitefully. "The one who told humans to murder themselves so faunus can have more jobs?"

Weiss just looks up, getting rid of the tears before they form. "That was his ex-girlfriend. She was always…loose when it came to relationships. Things then fell apart when she ended up sleeping with the CEO of some superhero movie to land the role. He torched her costume, broke up with her, and that's that."

Just then, they hear a loud bang and see bright flashes of crimson light along the halls. "Fuck! Fuck you, asshole!" Then Neptune starts running away with the tips of his hair on fire. "Get back here, motherfucker!" Sander then chases after the unfortunate boy with flames encasing his hands before stopping at their alcove, and the fires are extinguished. "Eh, whatever." He then walks towards the table and sits down. "So, shall we play a game?"

After a good three hours, Ruby slams her fists into the table. "Yang!"

The sister in question gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sis, this just wasn't your time."

Sander then turns off the radio which he acquired from the Clone Wars many years ago, which had been playing a different assortment of songs built in, mostly pop. Michael Jackson, of course, was the artist that enraptured the audience the most despite them not knowing who he is.

The three teams then return to their dorms, and start to settle in for the night. But as most of Team SPAM drifts off to a quiet sleep, one stays awake. Sander sneaks out of bed and out of the team dorms, taking care to avoid the creaking floorboard. Something has not felt right to him for many hours now, but managed to hide it rather well.

He walks back down the halls of Beacon, following his instincts towards the source. But as he turns a corner, he hears something charging towards him. The Jedi turns his head, only to see a giant suit of armor with yellow accents and a deep red light glowing under the helmet charging at him with a broadsword. Sander uses the Force by instinct alone to push the knight away from him, but it simply dissolves from existence. He blinks, confused but notices that he had accidentally smashed a glass window in the hallway. In a panic, Sander runs back towards his dorm, only to see two people running towards them. One is an honest-looking man with brown hair and wearing regal armor while wielding a cane with a green jewel on top and the other is a very pretty blonde lady with a white dress and green eyes. "Mom?" He asks, then sees her look at him before releasing a wave of red light at him. A sense of pain courses through him while the duo run away from something seemingly chasing them. They keep on going, passing right through Sander, leaving behind a cold sensation like dipping into an ice bath. The Jedi looks behind him, only to see the duo continue on before dissipating as well. Sander looks down at his shaking hands, still feeling cold on the inside but with a buzzing now reverberating in his ears.

He covers them both, using all his mental power and Force skill to push away the feeling. After almost a half-minute, these sensations vanish as quickly as they started. "What the hell's happening to me?"

* * *

Bright. Warm. Clear as far as the eye can see. This is what the newly-made captain observes as he stares out of the grey command center; perfect for what is about to be undertaken. "Captain Blanco." He then turns around to see the grey-suited official walking towards him. "I see you've been taking the news rather well."

"Thank you, sir." The captain replies, bowing to his new employer.

"Your co-workers are in the docking bay, waiting to talk with you." The CEO, a man known only has Halcroft, states. But as Sander's about to leave, the CEO grabs the captain's arm. "It really is an honor to work with the great huntsman Sander Blanco. Is it true you led your team into wiping out a whole nest of King Taijitus?"

Sander simply waves off his compliments. "There weren't that many, sir." But as he's about to walk through the sliding metal door that opens to him, he looks out at the sunny sky for another time before walking through. As the door closes behind him, he rubs his chin in thought.

It's almost hard to believe that five years had passed since his started that second year at Beacon Academy. So much has changed over the years that he can't really decide where to really start. He and his friends managed to band together to take on some of the deadliest terrorists and mercenaries in the world that decided to take a stab at Vale; the worst being an SDC-hired mercenary known as Tank the Executioner. They all shared some times, some really rough times, but everyone managed to graduate from Beacon Academy with top honors regardless. Each of them, despite remaining in contact as much as possible, deviated and went about separate lives.

After that… Sander decides to let a tear roll down his cheek for the first time in many years. His and Yang's relationship didn't really work out. To this day, he doesn't really understand how it started, but it most likely had something to do with the fact that he doesn't like to get really close with anyone anymore. Something hasn't been right for a long time and it just built up so Yang couldn't take it much more after that.

He wipes the tears from his face and swallows the rest, walking towards the docking bay. He reaches the massive docking bay where people 50 humans and faunus hand-picked are getting ready for the mission at hand. A great majority of them are Atlesian troops, with Wizard and Boomstick aiding the command deck and weapons maintenance troops respectively. Speaking of the beer-chugging man reinstated for command, it took many years for Penny to come clean with the fact that Boomstick is her father and that Glynda is the ex Boomstick tells tall tales about to any who would listen. But additionally, two more people are expected to take part in the process. One of them is a rebuilt Penny Polendina who regulates the state of the mission's AI core, a prototype super-computer named Virtual Intelligence Computer, better known as VIC, and Max Peterson, the human/alien who helped make everything today possible.

To truly understand what's going on, in the second year at Beacon, Sander had started to practice making the energy cells like what he saw on Merlot Island so as to power their rooms for those extra-powerful lamps. Without Max's help, Sander would never have been able to figure it out himself. He may have had Star Blaster built, but as to how it got built is beyond him. Once the team graduated, they truly went their separate ways. Alec decided to make the lives of his teammates easier and used the cells they built and perfected over the latter years at Beacon to rebuild Blanco Energy Enterprises; now he and his newly-wed wife Penny Goodwitch run the company together part-time, and are the Schnee Dust Company's greatest competitor in terms of energy use. In fact, it's so efficient that one day, they were approached by Halcroft, founder and CEO of the ill-favored RTASA, and bought the energy cells after they were tested to power machines in even the harshness of space. So now, the space program has been reborn under Atlas military's sponsorship with the other kingdoms pitching in to ensure success, and the rest is history.

But as Sander looks through the crowd of soldiers who are organizing for the trek, he freezes. There, in the middle of the crowd, is Yang Xiao Long! How did she get in here? From this distance, he decides to take in her sight once more. She has certainly grown up over the years, with a sparkle in her purple eyes that show she's seen a great deal. She changed her tan vest to a brown overcoat of sorts that still show a brief amount of midriff, replaced her short shorts with black pants, and aviator goggles around her neck. But perhaps the greatest change is her gauntlets; while they can still transform into lightsabers, more pieces of metal have been added so now they form full-fledged gauntlets much like medieval armor.

She looks around frantically, as if she's looking for something. But when she lays eyes on Sander, a bright smile forms on her face. Despite all his worries and stresses, he can't help feeling happy at the sight. They walk towards each other and briefly embrace. "How are you, big guy?" Yang asks once she pulls away.

Sander gives a faint smile in reply. "Dealing with all this."

Yang then looks around as the crates of supplies are being loaded onto forklifts that head towards their destination. "Look. I know that the last times we met haven't been the best. But you know, I'd like to start over. See if we can salvage anything."

Sander peaks briefly into Yang's mind and lets out a soft sigh. "Yang, I know you too well; you're too suborn to willingly do this. I know that Ruby's put you up to trying to fix everything that's gone wrong." Yang flinches slightly, and her eyes turn red, but they stop when Sander continues, "But, since I'm so…humbled, I will grant you that chance."

Yang simply nods in agreement. "You've become too responsible, you know." She states, leaning on her right side while crossing her arms over her chest.

Sander sighs again then looks to the mission project that had been in the making for almost three years. "Can you blame me? I was hired to oversee this mess."

The duo then stares at the beautiful ship that will serve as potentially Remnant's first space-ship. It has the foundation of an Atlesian airship, but with many changes added. The wings on the back are replaced with two enormous Atlesian-made jet thrusters powered by the largest energy cells Alec and Penny could come up with. Mistral's contribution is a pair of microfiber wings so as to provide an additional method of travel if the engines need shutdown for whatever reason with a single turbine also installed between the engines for precautionary measures. Vacuo, through some persuasion, provided a dozen of the old Atlesian AK-130s as additional troops along with three spider drones and some armored trucks with turrets on the back. Vale, with help from Menagerie, decided to provide food and medical supplies that would last for up to a year. With all these changes, and modifying the deck to accommodate for their new AI, the ship is ready.

"My word." Yang breathes, awed by the grey-steel beauty before them. "Does it have a name?"

Sander smirks, "I dub thee… the _Vytal_." Yang snorts slightly. "That's how I pitched it to Halcroft at least. He certainly liked it."

Yang then looks around once more and her brow furrows slightly. "There's something I don't understand. Why is there such a heavy military presence here?"

Sander's smile slips. "General Schnee insisted on it. Partly to make a show, but since she doesn't know what space is like, she is merely acting out of paranoia."

Yang snorts slightly. "You'd know better than the rest of us." But before they can continue their conversation, a scientist wearing an Atlesian uniform but with purple highlights on it.

"Well, captain. We are almost ready for launch." The doctor states in a rather chippy tone, then looks at Yang. "Oh, and will you look at this? The last-minute recruit."

Sander just blinks. "Ah… thanks, doctor. Why don't you join the rest of the crew? I'll be right with you." The doctor nods and simply walks with the Atlas troops. Sander, however, glares back at Yang. "Why are you joining this flight? Are you trying to spy on me?"

Yang's eyes flash red for a moment before vanishing. "Ruby made me promise to keep an eye out on you, make sure you're safe. And that's what I'm going to do, whether you like it or not."

Knowing that nothing will change, the duo start to make their way towards the ship, their talk shifting towards catching up on the six months since they've last seen each other. It mostly consisted of what Grimm they managed to kill, new crazy people they put down, and new movies that came out recently. But what really surprised Sander was that she, with Blake's help, managed to kill several members of the Red Claw; an extremist organization of the most extreme members of the White Fang after it dissolved. And whose leading it? Why, it's motherfucking Adam Taurus!

Soon, the duo reach the deck of the ship and all of the officers are at their stations, checking system efficiency and ensuring everything is ready for launch. "Captain, the General wishes to speak with you." A random officer calls up.

Sander nods. "Put it up here." He then walks towards the center of the room where a single computer is facing him. The screen flares to life and General Winter Schnee appears on the screen.

"Captain Blanco."

"General Schnee. The operation is almost underway."

"Excellent. I just want to report that the Red Claw might find a way to sabotage this operation, so be careful."

"I'll keep an eye out for them, ma'am."

"And Sander? Take care of yourself out there."

Sander senses Winter actually being concerned for his well-being despite hiding it well, and nods in acknowledgement before de-activating the channel. Soon, the ship is ready. "Five, four, three, two, one… Launch!"

With that, the _Vytal_ 's engines begin coming to life, and the floor shakes beneath them. The hangar doors in front of them slide apart as the engines finish roaring to life; the new ship then lurches forward, picking up speed dramatically as it travels up the ramp slanted at a 45-degree angle. Within seconds, the ship leaves the docking bay and flies towards the sky, maintaining its course.

Everyone looks down at the ground to see a whole crowd of people watching their departure. The Force-users of the crew sense many emotions from that crowd, the dominant being hope for a successful trip. The _Vytal_ travels higher and higher until the crowd slips from sight and the planet stretches all around them. The entire crew, especially Yang, just stare in silent awe of the sight while Sander and Max are mildly impressed at best.

The _Vytal_ quickly clears the planet's thermosphere and reaches the moment everyone has been anxiously waiting for for the years this project has been made for: seeing space for the first time.

"Systems check." Sander barks to his officers.

"All systems operating at full capacity." An officer replies.

"Very good. I'll be in my quarters." With that, Sander walks away from the bridge and towards his personal quarters. His personal armor and his weapon, Star Blaster, are already in his room and already organized in proper fashion. He sits down on his bed and relaxes; this will be a long trip.

According to the clock built into his desk, Sander understands that a week passed since the _Vytal_ has launched and everything has been going too quietly.

As he's walking through the halls, he then spots Yang waiting for him. "Hey."

"Hi."

"You certainly seem spaced out right now."

Sander groans loudly. "You haven't changed at all, Ms. Xiao Long."

Her face then shifts from self-satisfaction to a slightly bitter one. "And you've changed too much. Come on, what's going on? You can talk with me."

"Right. Because talking is so your strong point." As he's walking by, Yang grabs his arm.

"I'm being serious right now. Sander, something's been wrong for a while now. I get that how I took it was wrong now. But just tell me what's going on, and things will get certainly better. That's what happened with Blake at least."

Sander extends his sense to Yang, but senses no deception, only a strong sense of grief and loneliness. Despite himself, he feels himself giving in. "Okay. It all started…"

But before he can continue, gas starts flowing into the shut cabin. "Hold your breath." Sander shouts to Yang who promptly complies. He then grabs Star Blaster and converts it to lightsaber mode. He activates the lightsaber, and the crystal white blade activates. By the time he cuts a hole into the door and pushes it out, he was almost exhausted from holding his breath.

"What's going on?" Wizard, who is wearing blue Atlas armor but without the helmet so his green glasses and silver hair is flowing freely, demands as he rushes down the corridor with his partner at his side.

"Isn't it obvious, Wiz? He's trying to escape his ex!" Boomstick, who is wearing red Atlas armor but also missing a helmet so his face is shown by all.

Yang, coughing slightly, crawls out of the room with Sander's help. "Someone tried to kill us. We have a saboteur in our midst. And not escaping any exes." Sander replies, then glares pointedly. Yang, despite herself, smiles slightly at the remark.

"Come on!" Wiz shouts, leading the duo back towards the bridge. As they're making their way back, an explosion is heard and the ship rocks back and forth.

"Status check!" Sander demands as the crews look around frantically to try and find the source.

"The ventilation systems are out of control. Lights are shifting on and off at will. We lost four good engineers and three Atlesian AK-130s after that explosion in Bay 2 due to a fighter plane's detaching and colliding with a fuel tank."

Max, whose been listening into the report, rubs his chin in thought. "This isn't a hardware malfunction. This is a systems failure. Officer, check the AI status."

"Just do it." Sander states to the officer who promptly gets to work.

The officer tries multiple times and frowns at the result. "Captain, I can't get access to the AI." Suddenly, the ship lurches to the right in a 155-degree angle. "We've been hijacked. Where is Dr. Graydotter?"

Silence reigns. Sander lifts up his lightsaber. "I'll take care of this mess personally. Max, make sure that no one on the bridge is harmed. Wiz, Boomstick, make sure everything's in order. Yang, lets kick this person's ass." The duo then run off towards the central computer where VIC is housed.

Making quick work, they make their way through the ship and towards the main terminal, which is belching steam and the monitors are glowing yellow. Dr. Graydotter are already at the giant computer. "Oh, great timing! Something's wrong with our core here. Could you help me deal with this thing?"

Just then, the two Force-users sense an additional presence in the large room barely separated from the engine room. "Stand back!" Yang shouts, but it's too late.

The figure leaps from the shadows and hold the doctor at knife point. "Stand back! Back off!" The faunus worker shouts as he walks back towards the super-computer.

"Okay. So the dessert wasn't that great. No need to get twisted over it." Sander quips, while using the Force to probe the man's mind. What he finds quite shocks him. "So, you're with the Red Claw."

The bat faunus sneers. "You should be honored, human scum. My mentor, Adam Taurus himself, sent me on this mission. To show the world that his vision of the world is one without strife." He then cuts into the doctor's neck to draw some blood. In a moment of panic, she faints and he lets her collapse onto the ground.

The two Force-users then transform both their weapons into lightsabers and activates the respective blades. To their immense surprise, the faunus then pulls out two daggers and after pushing a button on the bottom, the blades glow with a bright light. "What, you thought we couldn't replicate your weapons?" The faunus shouts, then charges towards the two Jedi.

Yang jumps out of the way while Sander directly fights the faunus. The blonde lands behind him and charges forward, but the faunus ducks under the slash and uppercuts her with the weapon. Thankfully, she jumps out of the way of the slash after jumping back. She then slashes the faunus on the back of the leg who groans in agony. But as he collapses on the ground, a powerful wave is unleashed upon the duo who are blown onto their backs. Sander recovers quickly and glowers at him, realizing this Red Claw faunus has the Force as well. Perhaps this, combined with Adam's training, is how he managed to slip in unnoticed.

"It is pointless to fight back." He shouts as the daggers start vibrating with raw Force energy. "You and all those you hold dear will be destroyed today. Beginning with her." He then turns around and stares at Yang with a hungry expression and feelings of lust radiating from him.

Feeling this provokes something from Sander he hasn't feel in a long time; a sense of protection and rage so great that it nearly blinds him. The next thing he knows, the world turns red for him. He charges forward and grabs the wrists crushing them in a single grip. He then throws him to the ground. As he's falling to the ground, a bright red-light glow appears around Sander's right wrist. Before he can register what is causing the light, he notices that a large claw, like the one from a Beowulf Alpha. The bone-like claw impales the faunus in the head, killing the faunus instantly.

He looks upon the corpse, his rage dissipating and leaving shock in its wake. Yang also stares at time in complete shock and from sensing, horror. "How did you do that?"

Sander blushes slightly. "That's part of what I was going to tell you. But only after this mess this resolved."

The two just stand there for a tense moment before the doctor wakes up. "Oh, dear. What happened to me?"

"The Red Claw member that tried to killed you is dead. You need to reboot VIC now." The doctor nods and she pulls a chip out of her bag and starts working through the systems. Suddenly, the monitors that are starting to turn red slowly return to a seemingly normal state.

"We did it." The doctor replies, letting out a sigh of relief.

The moment to relax was not then; suddenly, the alarm starts blaring in the control room. "Attention! Attention! We are approaching a strange black mass, and it is pulling us towards it."

Sander looks up in alarm. Within seconds, he's dashing through the considerably sized ship towards the ship where the sight of a massive black circle surrounded by a powerful light is directly in front of them. The Force is acting erratically around it, so they should try and steer clear. "Steer clear! Steer clear!"

"We can't! The pull is too strong!"

A sense of doom fills the young Jedi; but as they continue approaching, his face hardens. "Brace yourselves!" He then extends the Force out to encompass the entire ship, planning to hold it together with power alone. As he does so, the rage returns and his sight turns red yet power flows through him at an even greater rate. He looks to see Yang and Max also helping out wherever they can, and clenches his eyes from the pain.

What seems to be an eon passes when Sander manages to pull himself back onto his feet. "Is everyone okay?" He asks, as the crew reorients themselves and ensures that things are starting to return to a sense of normalcy.

"Captain, there's something not right here." One of the officers calls out, making Sander look at him. "I've been recording the patterns of stars around Remnant since we left, sir. But, none of our charts recorded match any of these patterns."

As the other two Force-users also get themselves up, Sander stares out at the space before him. A space… that feels very familiar. He reaches his senses out and is overwhelmed with a sense of despair and anger. "Logically," Wiz starts while rubbing his chin in thought, "it is impossible for star patterns to change suddenly, unless a tremendous amount of distance was covered, caused by the black hole. Unless it wasn't a black hole, in which case…"

"Wiz, speak in terms the rest of us understand. What the fuck happened?" Boomstick demands.

"Okay. So, we could have passed through a spatial doorway and traveled millions of miles. Possibly into another galaxy altogether."

Sander freezes in place, horror filling his body. He then notices a green-filled planet* within sight, and extends his senses via sight towards said planet. It is filled with not only people, but also aliens that are familiar to him… he is back in his birth galaxy. Given his newfound anger, he would kick a computer and scream 'gods fucking damn it!,' but the anger didn't come this time.

He ruffles his hair slightly as Max and Yang look at him with concern and shock. "Fine. We need to get out of this space and to a place where we can regroup and figure out how to best proceed from here. Set course for that planet, commander."

"Yes, sir." With that, the officers resume work and the _Vytal_ now rockets towards the planet as fast as it can.

As he's overseeing the process, Max walks up to him and stares in the same direction with arms crossed over his chest. "Do you feel it?"

Sander, for what seems to be the thousandth time this month, sighs loudly. "Yes. I get the feeling we are about to get ourselves into some seriously fucked up shit."

* * *

 _AN:_ Well, how about that? Didn't think I'd get this out.

I am so sorry for not getting another chapter out for this sooner, but I have been contending with school, homework, personal issues, all that jazz. While I will probably not update again for another month or two, likely somewhere in May, I can assure all of you that I will update this story sometime again this year.

Yes, this will semi-follow the Star Wars Rebels path, but sometimes; aside from some references and cameos in Rebels episodes, it will mainly be original and a satire of what Disney does best: trying to fill in holes left by the trilogy.

And this is another thing I want to get out: I am retiring. After Remnant's Rebels (and continuing the Percy Jackson reacts to Death Battle at my own pace), I'm done writing fanfiction. Thus, I will do what I can in the time I can find to make this the best-written story of the bunch.

*In case I was too vague, this planet is Lothal.


	3. Reunion

**Unknown Date on Remnant**

 **Unknown Time on Remnant**

 **Space**

* * *

To say Sander Blanco, new captain of the _Vytal_ , is pissed off would be the understatement of the millennium.

This galaxy, his birthplace, is the last place he wanted to go to. All it did for him was bring betrayal, misery, and loneliness. True, life on Remnant wasn't much better for a time, but at least it gave him a chance to choose his own life and he had more friends that he didn't suspect of just straight up leaving.

Anyway, despite this rage, he manages to retain some sense of security as the ship approaches the planet. However, as they continue approaching, they notice a strange-looking grey ship floating in space. Sander stares long and hard at them, strangely reminded of the Republic battleships during the Clone Wars many years ago. "Bring this ship to a full stop."

"Captain?" The Atlas pilots ask, looking up at him in shock, along with everyone else on the bridge. Sander silently gulps.

"That ship. Whoever that is, isn't friendly and armed. While our ship may be able to fight back, we don't know our chances against the locals."

The crew takes a second look through their monitors and despite sensing deep curiosity from the pilots, they also manage to repress their emotions as they do as ordered. Sander lets out a silent sigh of relief. They just sit in space for a long moment, before Yang scoffs. "Alright. So, what's the plan now, or are we just going to sit here and wait for something to happen?"

Sander glowers at his ex, but before he can snap back, a communications office calls up to him. "Sir! We're receiving a transmission from one of the ships."

"Put it through." Sander commands. Within moments, a voice is blaring through the loudspeaker.

"Attention. This is Lieutenant Galagar of the galactic empire. You are entering the Lothal sector. You have two minutes to identify yourselves or you will be destroyed."

The communication officer cuts off the communication feed on the _Vytal_ 's end, and the chaos begins. Not only does he speak in their language, but he sounds no different than any human from home. "I say we give these brain-suckers a taste of my hairy weapons!" Boomstick shouts over the shouts of protest while Wiz facepalms, Yang snickers at the insult and Dr. Grey gags loudly.

Sander ignores all of this as he does his best to come up with a plan. But he's in too much shock; a Sith usually seeks dominion over others, so could the republic he fought for so many years ago be this empire? If so, damn, Palpatine works fast. "Sir, we're detecting massive spikes in heat from that ship!" The navigation officer exclaims. "They're going to fire!"

The Jedi knight runs towards the communication officer's desk on the right of the ship, and pushes the red button. "Stand down now, Lieutenant! This is Leonard Church, and I am a courier for the empire."

The protests die down as everyone stares at him with bewildered expressions. Silence and the thickest tension ever of all times hangs in the air. "…I'm afraid we use droids as couriers, rebel."

"You misunderstand me, Lieutenant. I am carrying vital information that must be passed to the officer in charge of running this planet. It was deemed too important by my CO to be trusted with a piece of walking junk." For a little push, he uses Force persuasion.

Silence fills the air once more as the Imperials mull over the information. "Very well, sir. Please send an escape pod to my ship, and I will personally escort you to the planet."

The comms cut off as Sander lets out a deep sigh of relief. He rubs his forehead and realizes his forehead is completely soaked. "Holy shit, he bought it." Yang exclaims out loud.

"We're not out of the woods yet." Sander replies as he walks away from the comms station. "Yang, Max, I'm giving you command of the _Vytal_ once I'm gone. Turn this ship 45 degrees starboard, then get out of that other ship's range; I'll find a map of this galaxy and find another way to escape and we'll reunite as soon as I've made my break. I'm getting my weapons and going to the escape pod."

Max then starts barking orders, and the bridge is once again alight with activity. As Sander's walking to his room to pick up the essentials, Yang grabs his metal arm. "Don't go dying on me, hot shot."

Sander simply smiles and nods before walking past his quarters and lifts his hand. With the Force, he levitates the large grey box containing Star Blaster and his suit of armor and has it floating at his left side. Never can be too careful, after all.

After reaching the escape pod, he seals the hatch and presses some buttons on the inside. The cylinder-shaped pod shakes violently as it rockets towards the imperial ship. The closer it gets to the ship, the bigger it seems to get. While far from the biggest or most impressive ship he's ever seen, it shouldn't be underestimated. The pod shakes even more, making the Jedi nearly fall out of his seat. The pod then seems to travel even faster to the ship and before he knew it, the pod was setting down on the docking bay.

Seeing no reason to stay in the pod any longer, Sander opens the hatch to the pod and is greeted with the site with a clean docking bay and a dozen white-armored troops pointing their blasters at the Jedi. For precaution, he raises his hands up in surrender. As he does so, the troops part to reveal a man wearing a green uniform that has colored buttons that seem to signify rank. "Are you the man who was so nice to me?" Sander asks in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Yes, Mr. Church. If you could pass along the information you have, then I can send you along your way." The officer suggests, holding out his hand.

Sander just places his hands on his hips and clicks his tongue. "Now, now, Lieutenant. I wouldn't be a good courier if I simply handed my messages to those I'm not contracted to, would I? Besides, my orders were to bring my message to the…who the hell is in charge around here, anyways?"

The lieutenant looks confused, but quickly regains composure. "Governor Pryce, sir. Now, I will take you down to Lothal personally."

"Sir." Another officer calls out, running to him with a data pad in hand. "Protocol dictates that you need to remain on deck to monitor for any more ships entering our sector."

Galagar growls in annoyance. "This is not going to be a good day for me, I can already tell." He then looks to the commander. "Sargent, escort our guest to Lothal and take him to the Imperial Center. Notify Governor Pryce she has a guest on his way."

"Yes, sir." The sergeant says, and escorts the secret Jedi through the docking bay to a grey-colored transport ship nearby. Once Sander is seated, the stormtroopers literally throw his crate filled with weapons after he reminds them of its existence next to him before the hatch closes.

"Some welcome." Sander mutters as he puts his trunk right-side up and checks to see if it has any scratches. As he finishes up, the shuttle revves to life and soars out of the docking bay, going towards the plant. The trip is quick and shockingly not as bumpy as he had expected; it seems travel between planets has improved since the days of the old republic.

The second they land, two stormtroopers that were sitting next to him stand up and take his trunk. The trio walk off the ship and into the bright sunset, which briefly blinds the Jedi. After a moment, they make their way onto what seems to be a floating grey transport which then promptly takes off. Sander stares out at the grassy fields that pass by; this Lothal planet seems to be a really peaceful place.

The trip passes by in a tense silence, no one willing to break the ice hanging in the air. It ends once they reach the docking bay of a large black mushroom-shaped building in the center of a more primitive city, and is quickly escorted into a new set of quarters.

Like that, he was alone again. All Sander does for what seems to be an eternity after the stormtroopers left was to sit on his bed in silence. He got himself into this mess that shouldn't have worked in the first place, so now what is he going to do?

The Jedi shakes his head, still trying to grasp that he really was back in his old galaxy. Should he stick around and most likely lie to this governor? And get himself killed in the process? On second thought, that doesn't sound too good and he quite likes being alive, so the Jedi decides to leave the building and find some local insurgent activity that could save his neck. He then stands up and looks around the room, running his hands under the bed and in the sink in his room. There, under the mattress of the bed he was sitting on, was a bug unlike any he has seen before. Smirking, he lays the mattress back on and moves the pillow aside. After seating himself back on the bed, he bounces up and down while deliberately putting as much weight in as possible. An audible crunch can be heard, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Serves you right for trying to spy on me. Maybe I should have really masturbated and really freaked out these guys out. Ah well."

He then opens his trunk and pulls out his armor. That was a close call for inspection, but with a lot of luck and Force use, he managed to avoid any issues that could have arisen. Within a minute, he has put on his navy-blue armor, complete with Remnant-style medieval plating and a Mark II clone trooper's helmet. While his cape would have been nice to bring along, it wouldn't work outside of Remnant so he had to leave that behind. Nodding in satisfaction, he uses the Force to pull Star Blaster into his hand and after converting it to lightsaber mode, cuts open a hole in the wall of his quarters and pulls it onto his bed. To his surprise, it opens up to the night-covered outside of the facility. It's almost as if an outside entity wanted to make this bought of fleeing imperial custody quick and painless.

He stares down at the ground, several hundred feet below him. His hands shake greatly but manages to take a shaky breath, and climbs to the outside of the compound and uses the Force to pull the circle cut back into place and he starts climbing down the compound. Inch by inch, he lowers himself as the wind whooshes around him triumphantly.

As he's about the halfway point, a loud clicking rings out on his right. Looking over slowly, he sees a single black droid with a red eye rushing towards him with a wiper in one appendage, cleaning the station. Sander just stays where he is, too petrified to move and thinking the droid would skirt around him. Boy, was he wrong.

It slams hard into Sander's right arm, making him lose his grip. He yelps as he desperately tries to regain his handling but the droid manages to completely smash his fingers under the treads, which was still painful as hell despite wearing armor. Out of instinct, he lets go.

The Jedi can only scream in panic as he plummets towards the ground at speeds he can't even comprehend. He tries to use the Force, semblance, anything to slow down his plummeting but the instinctual terror for heights keeps him from doing anything but keep falling like a sack of rocks. Soon enough, however, he crashes right into the ground in the middle of an imperial garrison, crushing one unfortunate stormtrooper. His five companions look at the unconscious armored man while pointing blasters at him. "Where the kriff did he come from?" One trooper asks, looking up to the sky.

"Is he dead?"

A third trooper cautiously walks towards Sander's body and kicks his arm. Suddenly, Sander screams causing all the troopers to jump back simultaneously in shock. Then the Jedi stops screaming. "Oh wait. I've already landed." He then starts standing up, only for his back to very audibly crack in protest. "Owie." He then looks around at the armed stormtroopers, then down at the dead body. "Oh, ah. Sorry about that. I must have taken a very bad step."

"Surrender! You are under arrest for the murder of an official stormtrooper. Resist, and you will face the consequences." The sergeant commands stepping forward and holding out two metal cuffs connected by a thin wire crackling with blue electricity.

Sander huffs and shakes his head. "You do not want to take me prisoner." Sander says, waving his hand.

The sergeant growls and charges at Sander. The Jedi is momentarily surprised, but pulls out Star Blaster from the holster on his back while charges forward and slices horizontally. The leader just stands behind the Jedi while not moving, then his head slides off the body and both collapse to the ground, blood spilling on the ground. Sander smirks under his helmet. "So, who wants some now?"

The troopers then start firing their blasters at the Jedi, but he dashes towards the closest trooper, uppercuts him, and gets right behind the trooper. Red lasers hit the trooper as he screams for the last time. In that some moment, Sander throws the corpse at another stormtrooper, knocking him down. As the other two troops resume their firing, Sander dodges to the side and throws his sword like a javelin, impaling one trooper in the shoulder. The Jedi lunges forward to push the blade further in and pushes the screaming man into the final standing stormtrooper, sticking right into his heart. The Jedi rips the blade out and looks around at the bodies of the troops. Not even an hour on this strange planet, and not only does he not have a galaxy-wide map, he killed some official-looking soldiers. The trooper previously knocked down pushes the corpse off and tries to catch Sander off-guard, but not only does Sander duck under the blaster shot, he converts his sword to shotgun mode and fires. The blast blows the last trooper's chest clean open and spills blood all across the ground.

Just then, shouts of approaching troops can be heard as others check to find the source of their common. "Fuck." The Jedi mutters under his breath, sheathing the shotgun and running from the scene at the fastest speeds possible, magnified by Force use.

On and on he runs through this imperial-controlled city, until he stops at the city's edge to catch his breath. He must have made it nearly a half marathon by now. By the time he recovers, the former huntsman looks around to find out where he is now. It seems like the Force just wants to be sadistic to him today; he's run from one military facility to another, specifically a landing field of sorts. Standing high above him are three orange-colored cruisers shaped suspiciously like hammerhead Grimm, as well as large grey walkers that strangely resemble the republics' AT-TE.

Before the Jedi can figure out what to do from here, another ship that looks so different from all the others circles around before touching down on the ground, its lights nearly blinding everyone on the ground.

"This is the rebel ship we've been looking for." An officer exclaims in surprise before barking order to the two troopers at his back. Just then, the hatch opens up and three people step out of the ship: another stormtrooper, what seems to be a recruit, and a young and rather pretty woman who looks vaguely familiar to him. The two groups start conversing, but Sander is too distracted by staring at the woman and her associates.

The Force is so much stronger with them, it's baffling. The woman seems to have the most powerful sense of energy radiating from her, but the sensation is almost latent for her. The two troopers at her back, however, feel weaker but more active like they've used it recently. And the older trooper's signature feels so familiar to Sander, but where does he know it from?

As the woman walks away from the group, he notices an older man and an armored chick pulling what seems to be locks away from one of the cruisers, and separate by having the lady get inside the cruiser while the older man moves to the next lock. As he's working on the second lock, the first cruiser lifts up into the air. Haven't these guys ever heard of subtlety?

The imperials finally take notice of this and after spotting the older man, start firing at him. The commander, meanwhile, gets out what seems to be a communications device and shouts, "We've got rebels here. Call in backup. Now!"

Just then, the cruiser floating in the air lowers its blasters and opens fire upon the troops, making them lower their guard. One of the walkers finally takes notice of this and tries to intercept, only for yet another strange ship to soar through the sky and fire red torpedoes of sorts at the tank's side, allowing the flying cruiser to fly into space. Seems these thieves were more prepared than he thought.

As if that wasn't enough already, the two troops at the woman's side beat the other troops down, with the boy hoping onto the back of one trooper and despite getting his helmet knocked off, manages to beat the man unconscious. Quickly, the boy gets his helmet back on. The three can only watch as the damaged walker gets back on its legs and starts firing upon the air support.

The older trooper, to save their air support, runs towards one of the walkers while pulls out a long hilt and activating a familiar blue blade. Sander looks at it in awe; he's a Jedi! Just what the hell is going on here? This other Jedi manages to leap into the air and cut off two of the four legs of the first walker, making it collapse.

While the cadet manages to pull the blasters from the two remaining soldier's arms, he smacks them against his own head. Sander facepalms; it's like he's living in a dumbed-down cartoon for children. The woman manages to grab one of the blasters the boy pulled away and knocks down both troopers. Yang would honestly be impressed with this woman.

However, the luck has run out for these thieves. As the older trooper's making his way to boarding the second cruiser, three new transports arrive in the clearing and unload a dozen soldiers each to the battle. While they manage to not target the woman, who seems to be of some importance, while firing upon the rebels.

It is in this moment that Sander makes his choice. Lifting up his right hand, he concentrates his semblance, aura, and the Force into this new attack. The flame takes on a skull shape and glows a scarlet color. After a short minute of the fight commencing, he throws the fireball at a transport. It explodes in a brilliant flash of light, knocking the closest troops to the ground and even setting two of them on fire. As they roll on the ground screaming, the unoccupied troops take a moment to look at Sander as he steps out from the shadow of the building he was hiding behind. "Who is this guy?" He hears the disguised cadet ask in surprise. Smirking, Sander pulls back his right hand, pulling the burning flames around him to that arm before thrusting it forward. A few troops got extremely lucky and ducked under the flames but many were caught in the flames and roasted alive instantly. Without giving even a moment of rest, he then looks at the transports and lifts up his left hand before clenching the fist. All three transports float into the air and smash together before he swipes the metal arm right, making the transport smash the last troopers against a nearby wall.

The third and final cruiser lifts off the ground after the lock is deactivated and uses its thrusters to blow over the last walker. While the cadet and the woman are busy talking and ending with a stun blast, Sander sneaks around the side of the battlefield and onto the transport.

The boy sits down on the bridge of the ship, takes off his helmet, and lets out a sigh of relief. Sander stares at the boy with a slight look of contempt; if he's a Padawan to whoever the Jedi is, then to say he's unruly would be an understatement. Finally, he senses the huntsman and stands up, finding his opponent standing near the front of the docking bay, hands raised for a second time.

"Who are you? What did you do to those stormtroopers?" The boy demands, taking out what seems to be a piece of junk and activates it, giving off another blue blade.

Sander stares at the blade. "Did you make that yourself? I must say, it's rather impressive you built it out of pieces of garbage." His opponent doesn't answer, and only fires back. Sander ducks under the blast, and uses the Force to send the boy into the wall.

"First lesson to you: always pick your targets carefully. While shooting first and thinking later has its merits, you could piss off a target and that would bite you in the ass. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Got that?" The boy hesitantly nods, completely confused. "Then we're good!" Sander then drops the boy. "Sorry about that, I get all defensive then things blow up, you know how it goes. Honestly, I was just in the neighborhood and saw your whole heist. I've got to say, it's kind of interesting how well you fondled those assholes. But I want to meet your mentor."

"My…mentor?" The boy asks cautiously, before rubbing the back of his head. "You're talking about Kanan?"

"Yup." Sander replies happily. "You see, I was a member of the Jedi order when the Clone Wars were around. Want to see if I know this guy."

"And…if you don't?"

"Then he's dead meat. Oh, how rude of me. I'm Sander. And you are…?"

"Ezra Bridger." Ezra replies uncertainly. The flight passes in silence as the cruiser seems to connect with the rest of the fleet.

"Alright. You stay here, and I'll be back with Kanan. I think the whole crew would be interested to meet you too." With that, Ezra leaves the cruiser.

"God damn it! What is with everybody leaving me in limbo today?" Sander complains before getting up and wandering around the docking bay, looking for the hatches into and out of the area. If this shmuck decided to vent the docking bay, he'd need a way out. As he's at the door leading out of the bay, it swings open to reveal a strange group of aliens and humans, with the older man joining them.

"Ezra, is this the one you were talking about?" The man asks curiously, staring at Sander imperiously. Ezra simply nods in acknowledgment. "Alright then. Who are you?"

Sander just stares at the other Jedi, knowing who he is instantly. While his hair is much longer and his voice is slightly deeper due to age, there's no doubt in his mind. "Caleb?"

The green Twi'lek female looks really surprised while the rest of the crew looks completely confused by the turn of events. "Kanan? What is he talking about?" The armored chick from earlier asks.

Kanan, however, just stares at Sander curiously before his eyes widen slightly. "Can you take off that helmet?"

Sander nods and grips both sides of the helmet before twisting it to the right. A click, followed by a loud hiss, and the helmet slides off his face. Kanan stares at Sander for a long moment with astonishment. Ezra looks between the two, sensing their shock but not understanding it. "Sander. You're alive." Kanan then charges forward and hugs Sander tightly. The younger man is completely caught off-guard by the gesture, but decides to hug back. Kanan then pulls away and smiles slightly at his old friend. "Where have you been for the last 15 years?"

"Here and there to hit the parties, got laid once or twice, killed some monsters, just the important stuff." Sander's face then hardens. "What's been going on around here? I didn't think the Jedi survived the attack on the temple."

Kanan just stares in bafflement. "You must really have been out of touch. Emperor Palpatine has made all of the Jedi outlaws. So few of us remain, and those of us that did survive are either in hiding or finding ways to return balance to the galaxy. I happen to be fighting with the rebellion to overthrow the emperor."

Silence ensues while Sander ponders this information. "Kanan. You know this man?" The Twi'lek asks walking up to Kanan's side.

"Yes, I do, Hera. This here is Sander Blanco, an old friend and fellow Padawan when the Jedi Order was numerous. I can't count how many times he's saved my life in those days."

Hera looks at Sander in gratitude and smiles. "Well, I'm honored to meet you, Sander. I know this might be a lot to ask of you right now, but could you please join our rebellion and help us take back our homes from the empire?"

Sander leans against the wall while checking his nails to try. "And what if I say no?"

Kanan looks shocked while Hera, while well-covered, starts to become desperate. "Our operation may have been a success, but we can't win this war if we don't have support. We can only steal ships and stack imperial facilities for so long before we get killed off and our work will be for nothing. Please, we need experienced warriors like you to help us actually do something meaningful now, to strike the empire where it hurts."

Sander stares at Hera's boldness. Yang would definitely get along well with this Twi'lek if they ever met. "Okay, okay. Jeez. No need to get so melodramatic all of a sudden. It was a simple 'what if…' question. Actually, my answer is that I'd like to talk with my crew first."

"Your crew?" Kanan asks curiously.

"Yeah, the _Vytal._ It's not much, but it's got some of the best people I know, and I would like to speak with them as soon as possible." Then silence reigns as Sander lets his words sink in. "Uh, how far are we from Lothal?"

"One or two hyperspace jumps. Why?" Hera asks curiously. Then she sighs. "You left them behind at Lothal didn't you?"

Sander's smile fades into a frown. "Yup. With no idea where they exactly are or a rendezvous point." Sander then facepalms. "I really fucked this up, didn't I?"

* * *

 _AN:_ And with that, I am back!

Sorry for the long hiatus, finals are a real bitch sometimes. Anyway, now that it's here, I will try to get back to a semi-regular update session, with other characters taking turns for the spotlight.

And for those who are wondering, while there some references and perhaps intersections with the main Rebels story, I plan on making this mostly original, with some satire of how Disney does things (don't worry, I'll do my best keep that craziness in check) as well as some Legends references, maybe some Extended Universe, and a Star Wars comic I found that's really good involving the clone trooper Able. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with those at all so I'll need to consult my Star Wars encyclopedias (which came out about a decade or so before the dark times, before Mary Sue made becoming a Jedi look like buying fucking ice cream). If there's any other references I could add that wouldn't be there or got incorrect, can you please let me know?

Thanks, and have a good day (or evening, whenever you read it).


	4. First Mission

**Unknown Time; One Week Later**

 **Unknown Date**

 **Space**

* * *

Phoenix Cell has achieved its first major stroke of luck in its war against the Galactic Empire in many months.

Not only did the ragtag organization manage to acquire three new formidable cruisers able of tanking blasts from a Corellian-made star destroyer, but a new ship and its crew have joined their cause, with their captain being a general during the Clone Wars.

Right now, the man who had assembled this branch of the growing rebellion, Commander Jun Sato, is standing in his command center and staring at the holograms before him with a grim expression. While rebellions have been popping up left and right for the last few years, separate they are helpless to do much to the galactic empire's military. While rubbing his chin in thought, the door swings upward and a rebel soldier walks into the room. "Commander Sato. Captain Blanco is here to see you."

Sato nods. "Good. Let him in." The soldier nods and walks out of the room. A moment later, the Jedi walks into the room wearing his strange armor and helmet at his side.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Sander asks calmly, his eyes piercing the commander. Sato hides it well but he shudders slightly under the gaze; he may mean well, but something about him makes the man feel uncomfortable.

"Yes. I know it has only been a week since you had joined our rebellion, but I have a mission I would like you and crew to partake in."

Sander simply nods. "Alright. Lay it out on the table."

Sado knits his eyebrows together. "You will take a squad to…here." The commander then points to the hologram on the screen and points towards one of the planets, which enlarges to show the forested planet. "This is Onderon, a planet in the Outer Rim that was a Separatist stronghold during the Clone Wars. When the Empire was formed, it took this planet like so many others and forced a puppet government into control. In this case, Commander Kilian took the title of king of Onderon."

Sander looks at the commander in confusion. "That name sounds familiar. Do I know him?"

"Not really." Sado replies, "He was merely an admiral during the Clone Wars. Ahsoka Tano had saved his life before he could be sold off by bounty hunters."

Sander leans on the wall and hums in agreement. "Of course. Could you please give me the coordinates, and this map, so this can be done?"

Sado nods. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a complete map of the galaxy on this ship. But I can provide a copy of the map. Now, back on topic. Onderon has been a hotspot for rebellions forming, led by Saw Gerrera, who was a famous rebel even during the Clone Wars. While he has not called upon help from outside sources, imperial forces have doubled in the last year and tales of bombings can be heard to keep the rebels in line. We are sending you to find Saw Gerrera and get him off Onderon before any more of his people are killed. Is that clear?"

Sander thinks it over for a long moment before asking, "Will the _Ghost_ be able to accompany us for this mission?"

Sado shakes his head. "No, captain. They are currently seeking out new hyperspace lanes for us to travel through. You will be assisted by another captain I trust very much for this. They will be sent with you to the _Vytal_ as soon as they are ready." By now, the transfer is done and Sado takes the data chip and hands it to Sander.

The former Jedi takes the card, bows respectfully, then walks out the door and back onto the shuttle. There, he sat in boredom for a good half hour until an older man walks into the docking bay wearing a near-ragged suit of clone armor. The man then stops and takes his armor off, running his eyes with a shocked look on his face. "Well, well. Sander Blanco. It's been many years, sir. Captain Rex reporting for duty."

Upon hearing that, Sander feels rage surge inside him once again but manages to keep both hands behind his back and grip them tightly. "It's been a while, captain. I'm surprised you and Kanan haven't killed each other yet over your actions."

Rex visibly flinches from the cold remark but manages to regain his composure. "I never killed any Jedi, Captain. There was a chip in each clone that made my brothers be manipulated to turn on their generals. Right in here." Rex then points towards a bald spot on the left side of his head and points towards a small scar there. "I had this removed before I could comply with the orders. I didn't kill any Jedi or do I want to ever, sir."

Sander just stares at the clone who is much older than he should have been before letting out a short growl of frustration. "It's been almost 15 years, captain Rex. But I vaguely remember the old days and that you were one of the better captains in the republic. For now, I'll trust you on this mission. But if I find cause to believe you have double loyalties, then I will not hesitate to put you down like an animal." The hangar goes silent at the threat uttered, and the other deck officers looking at Sander with shock. "And with that disclaimer out of the way, welcome aboard." He then walks onto the shuttle with the activity resuming as it once did. Rex stares at his back for another moment before walking onboard. The shuttle then lifts out of the docking bay and flies out into open space with the rest of the fleet and approaches the _Vytal_ before setting down in the docking bay. The ship's ramp opens up and the duo walk out to a dozen Atlas soldiers standing in a straight line with guns in hand and stoic as ever. At the front of the crew is Yang, looking at Sander with a disgruntled expression.

"Well?" Sander shudders slightly at Yang's tone, but looks at her.

"We're on a mission now. Helping out some rebel on Onderon and heading out now. Once we arrive, I will tell everyone the plan. Dismissed." Sander shouts the last part, and the soldiers start marching away to prepare for the mission at hand. Yang stands there and glares at Sander before looking at the older captain.

"Who's this?"

"This is an old friend of mine way back when. Captain, why don't you get acquainted with the troops before we begin?" Rex nods and walks away to help the Atlas troops.

"Did you get it?" Yang asks, and Sander nods, holding up the data card.

"This isn't a whole map of the galaxy, but I did get everything Phoenix Squadron has regarding Imperial planets and strongholds. Force use certainly helped as well." In that moment, Yang leans in and pecks Sander on the lips.

"That was an apology for nearly hitting you earlier." Sander rubs his cheek slightly, remembering the hour after he had returned to the _Vytal_ after some miracle.

Needless to say, many officers and even Yang opposed staying in the galaxy any longer than needed and helping a rebellion against something none of the crew frankly knows or understands is not how they want to die. It took an absurd amount of convincing, and some drinks, to convince the majority of the crew to remain in this galaxy. After all, they have no idea what this galaxy is like, the dangers that could lurk here, and whether or not they'd be ambushed by the empire that seems to have control over this galaxy. Thus, he convinced them that they'd stay behind to help the rebellion until they had a map of the galaxy and have as many imperial stations known as possible so they won't be ambushed, and use the growing rebellion as a means to escape without being spotted. While Yang was the most vocal, and resorting to fighting instinct as a result, she did calm down and complied with that explanation.

An hour later, the officers are all gathered on the deck of the ship and staring at their captain with anxiety. He takes a deep breath before Yang pats him on the back slightly. He nods before stepping forward. "Good morning, everyone. Afternoon. Hell, I don't know what time it is and it doesn't matter anyway. This here is the source of our mission." He then points to one of the screens showing Onderon. "This planet is called Onderon. Based on what I'm told, it is a habitable planet with which humans are able to thrive on, so oxygen tanks and masks will not be needed. Two dozen troops will be accompanying myself, Ms. Xiao Long, and Captain Rex on his mission, and we'll split into two squads. Half of the forces will go with Yang, and the other half will accompany myself and Captain Rex. From there, we shall converge on these two sites. Here, and here." The screen then shows two different points on the planet, relatively close to each other. "According to data provided by Sato, these are the primary locations of rebel bases on this planet. Our mission is relatively simple, we go in and get these rebels out of there before anyone knows we're there. While we're there, how about we kick those stormtroopers' asses?" Everyone cheers loudly at the proposal and even Yang grins at the thought. "We take the Beamspace drive in 10 minutes and move out soon after that. Be ready."

The activity returns to the bridge and in stronger force. Suddenly, the _Vytal_ lurches forward and rockets through space before flashes of blue appear before the front of the ship. The flashes become more and more frequent until it completely surrounded their sight for a few seconds then just as quickly, the light vanishes and they are back in space. But now, Onderon is visible in the distance along with no grey ships floating in space. How suspicious…

"I don't like this." Max states, leaning on the nearest rail with real worry. "You do realize we're walking into a trap for this, right?"

Sander stares out at the planet, reaching out through the Force. The Dark Side has a strong presence on this planet, but since it's not approaching them at all, they could be caught off-guard. "Maybe. But we're too far in to pull out now." Sander then leave the bridge and makes his way to the docking bay where two atlas-made cargo airships modified to survive even in space but retaining their original look. The Atlas troops are already onboard with Rex putting on his helmet before rushing onto one of the ships.

"Good luck." Yang manages to get out before going off to her own ship. Sander simply stares at her heading off before smiling slightly and going onto his own ship. The hatches close and the engines roar to life. All the group does is sit in silence while checking their weapons and preparing for a fight.

Due to no clocks or any sense of time, eternity could have passed as the ship passes through Onderon's atmosphere. But soon, the ship sets down and the ramp opens up. Sander puts on his own helmet and jumps out first, holding Star Blaster out in front of him and Atlas troops marching out and Rex leading them. The squad had landed safely on the top of a large canyon that doesn't look like it's been occupied ever. "The scanners are picking up nothing, sir." The sergeant of the squad states in a matter-of-fact tone, looking at the motion scanner he's holding.

Before any of them move, Sander holds up his hand. The Force has a fluctuating presence here, with the many presences pressing towards them. "Captains, we've got movement." The sergeant calls out, spinning all around. "It's all around us! What the hell!"

Sander stares at the sergeant before making a choice. "Guns at the ready!" The troops comply, ready for an ambush. Rex looks around before hearing a silent clicking sound at their feet.

"Run!" But it's too late. The landmines go off, knocking the entire team off their feet. Sander tries to lift his head up, but several strange individuals fill his view before it goes completely black.

When he regains consciousness, his view is filled with rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Letting out a loud groan, he sits up and rubs his head, before noticing a rather tough looking man wearing a green suit, a cape hanging off the back, and a strange hairstyle to say the least. On his left is a strange yellow alien that looks like a Tognath, but Sander isn't sure. "So, you are the general?" The man demands in a coarse, no-nonsense voice.

"Wha…?" The man's alien companion walks forward and thrusts it into Sander's arm. "Ah! I'm up, I'm up. Keep that baby-maker to yourself." Sander pushes himself onto his feet and looks around. "Now, to answer your question, that depends. What would I have been a general of?"

The alien is about to stab Sander again, but the man raises his hand in a stopping motion. "Are you, or are you not, a Jedi Knight?"

Sander claps his hands. "Yes, I am! The great and powerful Sander Blanco, at your service!" He then bows deeply.

The man snorts slightly and turns around. "Good. If our mission is to succeed, I'll need your help."

"Yeah… wait, the fuck did you say?" Sander asks indignantly, "My mission is to find Saw Gerrera and take him with us to the larger rebellion."

The man looks back at Sander with interest before sighing. "I am Saw Gerrera. And I'm not going with anyone until my mission is a success. Come with me." The trio then walk out of the cell carved into the stone walls and through the corridors filled with a small group of hardened fighters who are holding the Atlas troops and Rex at gunpoint. "Stand down!" The troops comply with Saw's command, and they comply instantly. "Captain Rex, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Rex replies, shaking Saw's hand tightly. Saw then looks around at the group. "A clone captain and a Jedi knight. You'll do just fine."

"Can someone just spit out what you're up to? I'm getting sick of waiting!" Sander shouts, sick of how this question is being dodged.

Saw glares at the Jedi slightly. "We will be attacking the Unifar Temple and replacing that foreigner Kilian with one who is fit to rule. Come on out, Lux!" Then, from out of the shadows comes another young boy with rather long brown hair, blue eyes, his face being covered with soot, and is wearing the same mismatched outfit as the rest of Saw's troops. "This is Lux Bonteri, son of Mina Bonteri, this planet's senator when the republic was around. If we can take this planet back from Onderon, then we can send a message that the empire's days are numbered. We will take this galaxy back one planet at a time!" His troops roar in approval. Sander slaps his forehead slightly, but pulls the hand down before Saw notices. "Now, for the plan. Most of you will attack the front gates of Iziz and hit it hard. While those bucketheads are distracted, a strike team consisting of myself, Lux, Captain Rex, and General Blanco will ascend the wall on the side and dethrone the so-called king. Any questions? Good, move out!"

The groups start going their separate ways, but Sander grabs Saw and forces him to turn around. "Sorry not sorry to say this, sir, but I don't trust you or your men with the lives of my troops. Let me be with them."

Saw pulls away. "Your men seem hardy, let's see if they're worth that fancy armor they wear. I need you with me now. Betray me, I but your balls off and feed them to bor gullet."

"That sounds awful." Sander mutters as the group walks past him. The Jedi keeps up and they make their way via a worn-out hovercraft towards the large walled city. Perhaps the longest line the Jedi has ever seen in his life is formed at the main entrance to the city, guarded by two walled turrets and six stormtroopers.

The four waits on the edge of the city, hidden by the rough terrain that surrounds the city, when a large explosion suddenly goes off, throwing many of those in line into the moat below, and the stormtroopers rush forward to investigate the source. "Let's move." Rex states, and the group makes their way through the terrain as the skirmish starts at the city gates. Saw reaches into the bag at his side and pulls out four blasters that have hooks at the end of the barrel. Saw passes them out to all four members as they reach the wall. Sander looks at the weapon before realizing what it is, then grins widely and points the gun to the top of the wall. Firing the grappling hook, he pushes the button on the edge of the blaster and starts ascending the wall, already well behind the other three fighters. Realizing that Sander's not going to catch up in time, he sighs then starts pulling himself up by the wire. By the time he reaches the top, he swings himself up and lands on the top of the wall ahead of everyone else. Two stormtroopers who were looking towards the source of the explosions noticed Sander but he took out Star Blaster already turned to lightsaber mode and the white blade cut both troops down where they stood, but their bodies remained on the wall.

The others finally arrive and instantly take notice of the corpses. Saw nods in acknowledgment before they descend the wall via jumping onto the roof of the nearest building. Slowly but surely, they make their way through the city as hordes of stormtroopers make their way through the city streets to reach the main gates. Seems the distraction is doing much better than Sander expected. Eventually, they reach the temple and make their way through the long hallways to the king's chambers.

"You." Saw states with a venomous tone to the back of the throne, holding up his blaster. "You think you could escape justice? All those civilians dying, and for what? So you can sit pretty on a stone chair?" Silence returns the rebel leader.

Sander stares at the throne, feeling something odd about it. "Uh, Saw…"

"Shut it." Saw then walks towards the throne. "You recompense is at hand. The rebellion has won today and we won't stop until all you imperialist scum are dead!" He then swings around to point the blaster at the king. But he falters and his eyes widen. "What?"

The group turn around the corner and bear witness to the body sitting on the throne. Cautiously, Lux walks forwards and presses his fingers against the king's neck. "He's dead. And he's really warm, so this must have just happened." He then notices something and lifts the man's mouth. Where both eyes should be are replaced by bloody sockets and blood streaking down the cheeks.

Rex looks around carefully, having a feeling that they are being watched. Then, from out of the corner of his eye, he sees someone wearing black armor standing in the corner of the hall, pointing a gun at Sander. "Get down!" He then charges at Sander, knocking him down to avoid the blue ball of energy as it destroys the top of the throne, before firing his blaster at the attacker. A loud groan is heard as they return to cover behind the pillar. Rex gets up and points his blaster in all directions, with Saw and Lux following suit. A silver ball lands at their feet and starts beeping, but Sande notices and uses the Force to throw it in the direction where it came from. As the second assailant rolls to the side to avoid the grenade's blast, Rex uses the opening to fir his blaster. The red laser hits the neck region that is least protected by the armor and kills the attacker instantly.

A roar of rage echoes through the hall and two other attackers charge forward, wielding daggers that have tips glowing a deep blue. Sander charges forward and ducks under both slashes, slashing upward to take one of the assailant's arms and splitting head of another in two. Saw rushes forward and rips off the helmet of the surviving assailant's black helmet that has a crystal spot in the center where the face is, revealing a dark-skinned man with sharp features and piercing black eyes. "Who are you? Why did you kill my target?" Saw shouts while shaking the man back and forth.

He lets out a loud groan and bites down violently. "You mistake us. The empire's day of reckoning is at hand."

"Not unless I have a say in it." Saw barks, pointing his blaster at the man's face. "Now, who are you? Who do you work for?"

But to Saw's surprise, a pink foam starts accumulating in the corner of her mouth. "You're all fools. The true ruler of the galaxy is at hand. All those who stand against him shall feel the flames of a thousand suns." Not even a moment later, the man's head rolls back into his skull and his head collapses on the ground.

Sander stares at the corpse before walking forward and looking at the helmet of the assailant. The color of the central lens… is orange. And there is only one being Sander has ever known, Sith, human, alien or otherwise, who can have an eye color as vibrantly orange as the lens on this helmet, a single eye that has haunted his dreams for years and even to the modern day. "Oh Gods." Sander drops the helmet in shock, hands shaking.

"What is it?" Rex demands, then looks at the helmet before picking it up.

"It's the old emperor, Kabadra. He's back." Sander mutters in horror, and making Rex be flabbergasted.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!" The group looks to see a group of a dozen stormtroopers march into the antechamber, escorting several robed individuals who seem to the empire's puppet government. They all notice their king's corpse and take a step back in shock.

"To think the people have stood up for you…" One of the officials mutters before glowering at the rebels. "You shall pay for your war crimes here and now, Saw Gerrera. Take them! Take them all!"

The officials are then escorted out of the chamber while the other nine troopers start moving forward, firing their blasters at the rebels. Lux tries to hold the line, but one trooper manages to hit him in the abdomen, making the young boy shout in pain. Saw tries to defend him by firing back, but then several shouts ring out and other stormtroopers enter the chamber. Seems like the distraction has worn off, after all.

"We're completely surrounded! Doesn't mean that I won't give these slackers a run for their money!" Rex calls out defiantly and moves out of cover long enough to hit an approaching trooper right on the forehead.

Sander converts his weapon to shotgun mode and manages to blast one of the troopers into pieces, but it's not enough to stop them. In that moment, time slows down around him. "What the hell? Again?"

"Sander, my boy…" A feminine voice says to him, her voice echoing throughout the chamber.

"Who are you!"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you return to the one you love in one piece. And I can provide you the power needed to make that happen. All you need to do is reach inside your very soul and use the power you were born with."

"Why do I get the feeling there's a condition that comes with this?"

"There is only one concern. This power inside you is one that has never been seen in the universe at large. The consequence of using this power is that it may destroy you overtime."

Sander blanches before looking at the three rebels. He's barely even known Lux and Saw for more than an hour, but they've already proven themselves as people who've lost people they love and are willing to avenge them. Rex, Sander is willing to admit he was wrong about the clone. While he may be old, nothing in even the most subtle actions or the Force has given indication that he has a duel loyalty and even willingly risked his life for Sander's. While the Jedi can never forget or forgive the clones for betraying him, Rex is looking to atone for it. Giving him the chance to not only do so but to live out a peaceful life worthy of his struggles. With a sigh, the Jedi makes his choice. "I'll do it."

The voice chuckles darkly and shadows seem to swirl around him. "Good. Destroy them."

With his skin blanching to deathly white and eyes turning red as blood, Sander makes his move as time returns to its normal speed and the shadows vanish. Holding out his right hand, his fingernails extend to great lengths and slashes it against the nearest stormtrooper's armor. He screeches as the skin under the armor shrivels up into nothing and any exhaustion the Jedi felt was instantly relieved. He then looks towards one of the nearest columns as several stormtroopers try to make a break for it. The wall then collapses and crushes the entire group underneath. One bold trooper tries to sneak behind Sander, but he back-flips over the unfortunate troop and uses his lightsaber to cut the trooper in two. The remaining six troopers just stare at Sander, dropping their blasters in horror at the massacre that has met their three dozen comrades. Even the rebels are horrified at the bloody massacre. The lightsaber is deactivated and Sander puts it back into its sheath before letting out a roar as he punches the ground. Tendrils of black goo start spreading out in all directions with some snaking up the walls of the temple and pulling with all its might. The troops desperately fire at the black tentacles, but they succeed in pulling down the entire temple around them.

* * *

Silence reigns as the people of Iziz start running away from the destruction of their capital temple, before a loud roar is let out and Sander bursts from the rubble and his original features returning to his body. "I really need to figure this shit out. This shit is dangerous." He then uses the Force to lift up the unconscious bodies of the other three rebels. "Sorry you had to witness that. Let me ease your pain." Then, he places an index finger on each of their foreheads, which are surrounded by black smoke which then dissipate. Sander looks at his finger; just how in the hell did he know how to do all this? No; it's more like he knew how to do this by instinct.

He is distracted from his thoughts as a loud engine can be heard and an Atlas cargo ship flies down, with the ramp lowering and Yang standing at the edge of the cargo bay. "Get on!" Sander nods and uses the Force to lift the unconscious men onto the ship before Sander follows suit.

The Jedi lets out a sigh of relief and loses balance, collapsing into the far wall. He then looks around. Only a dozen live Atlas troops are present, their armor dent, covered in burn marks, or tending to various wounds; one or two even are missing their helmet and are covering an eye. Only Saw's Tognath lieutenant is sitting in the bay, gripping his stick with great fury. "Looks like you had quite the fight."

Yang simply nods. "We fought with everything we had, but so many are dead because I couldn't help them. The rebels too." A tear forms in her eye, but she wipes it away.

"I know what it's like. To lose those who are under your command, you feel responsible for their deaths. It's something that never truly goes away, only live with."

Yang's breath hitches, but she regains her breath before hyperventilation can set in. "It wasn't just those lousy men in white armor. There was another group of soldiers with an orange eye that was way better, and killed so many troopers and were responsible for most of our casualties. Just who are those guys?" She then punches the nearest wall in frustration.

Sander just stares at the floor and Rex's hand; the clone captain is holding the helmet of the one who committed suicide in front of them all. "I do. And all I know for sure now, is that things are about to get a hell of a lot harder from here on out. We'll need to be ready for when they return in greater force."

The bay falls silent as the cargo ship shakily leaves the planet's atmosphere as several imperial star destroyers arrive and float over the surface of Iziz, determined to find the ones who caused the massacre at their stronghold's capital under their watch.

* * *

 _AN:_ Another one bites the dust! Dun-dun-dun. Not my best work, but I think it's okay.

Well, things seem to be certainly picking up now, with some more twists and turns to come in this final installment of this series. I may do one more story after this one, but this one is in the air depending on how things go, really.

Well, not much to say other than the update session isn't as good as I had initially hoped (especially since I've finally gotten my hands on the Resident Evil 2 remake and trips abroad keep piling up), but I'll try and work something out.

Peace and whatever else you like.


	5. Strike on Naboo

**1130 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; Two Weeks after the 1** **st** **Mission**

 **Space**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

"Aah!"

Sander screams loudly before punching the nearest wall. While it doesn't dent, the ship groans loudly in protest. It has been two weeks been since the former emperor's forces have not only made themselves known, but despite all the persuasion and even Rex providing a helmet, Commander Sado still chooses to do nothing about it.

The door opens up, and Yang walks inside with a slightly frustrated look. "Let me guess how your most recent meeting went. Badly."

Sander straightens his back out and nods. "I just don't get it. We're here, risking our lives when we don't have to, and no one is taking this threat seriously. I mean, look at me. Am I crazy! Have I lost my marbles?"

Yang steps forward and hugs her friend. "I see a man who is dealing with a lot of stress on too many fronts. You just need to kick back and relax from time to time. We'll all be dead in a hundred years, so who cares by then what we do?"

Sander looks Yang right in the eyes, and smiles slightly. "Of course. What do you have in mind?" Yang smirks deeply and whispers it into Sander's ear. Within seconds, his face turns the color of a beet, but still grins widely. "That's…"

In that moment, the door swings open and Max walks inside. "Captain, that man Sado is…" He then notices his teammate and extended friend close to each other and glaring at him.

"You know, I look forward to the day when someone isn't interrupting us." Sander states with a deadpan expression, but sighs. "But okay, what is that douchebag up to now?"

Max clears his throat. "Well, he said something about a major offensive and that all captains are required to see him immediately."

Sander just groans loudly. "Alright. I'll be there soon." He then smiles sadly at Yang before walking towards the bridge of the _Vytal_ , since the 'meeting' consists of a message being broadcast to all ships. By the time he arrives, the projections of all the captains of Phoenix Squadron, and even Sado, are present and stare at him.

"You're late." Sado barks.

"Sorry, sir, I was taking a shit." Sander then stands at the front of the bridge. "So, what are we going to do now?"

Sado looks away from the Jedi and back to the group. "Right. For months, we've run many operations and struck many blows to the Empire. However, these strikes are little more than insect bites to them, and still they do not treat us like a threat. Many rebel sympathizers remain cowering in their homes. Thus, for the first time, we will be going on the offensive and proving to them all our cause is one worth fighting for."

"Where can an attack of this scale have the effect you're looking for?" Hera asks with slight concern. Mostly because she doesn't feel like they have the weaponry or manpower to take on an imperial-occupied planet head-on and win. A sentiment that Sander quite agrees with.

Sado nods in acknowledgement. "We will be attacking the Emperor's home-world, Naboo." Several of the captains start murmuring amongst each other. "As there will be greater imperial influence here than any other world, we do not possess the strength nor the intelligence to save the planet from the empire and keep it out. The most we can do is send a message to them through action none can ignore. At 1330, our ships will cause as much damage to imperial morale as possible while our troops will land on the planet and attack the Naboo palace in the city of Theed. There, they will rescue several captured rebels being held on this planet for execution and rescue them. Captain Blanco, you are entrusted with leading the ground assault against the empire while the imperials are kept busy in space. The chances of sending more troops down to aid you will be unlikely, but everything will be done to make sure things go well."

"Where will we meet after we have rescued the prisoners?" Sander huffs slightly at Hera, having taken the question right out of his mouth.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. One of our highest-ranking associates has provided the coordinates to where they will be sent and put to good use into forming the larger rebellion, one that has an actual hope of dismantling the new order. That is all I can tell you."

"Commander, sir, before we begin the operation, there's something I'd like to know." Sander pipes up, before Sado can sign off, drawing his attention. "This galaxy is home to more threats than just the empire. If a third party were to reveal themselves and impede on our progress, permission to fight them as well?"

Sado lets out a groan and rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, Commander. Kadabra's empire is dead, and they aren't back. If they were, I'd know about it and action would be taken. If you wish to prove yourself to me, Captain, this is the time to do so." The transmission is cut off and Sander lets out a loud growl of anger.

"Calm down. Calm down." He thinks to himself before looking up at the slightly worried troops. He gives them all a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me, gents. Set course for Naboo."

The navigations officer then starts scouring the map of the galaxy provided by the rebel command to find the planet of Naboo. Max walks up to his captain with a hint of concern. "Sander, are you trying to provoke Commander Sado?"

He only shakes his head in response with a small smile. "No, no, if I wanted to provoke him, I'd be doing a lot worse right now. He never said that we couldn't be planetside and give those imperials a hard time, but we will be doing more than that. We're also going to be raiding the imperial database and collecting valuable data of imperial bases; information needed to get the fuck out of this galaxy. Now, Max, please call all of our officers to the bridge. I'd like to plan our attack with them."

Max complies and within minutes, all of the officers are on the bridge and ready for the meeting. Sander stands at the front of the crew, holding both shaking hands behind his back. He has made many great mistakes recently, but now it's time to do the absolute best he can in this endeavor. He then steps forward and points towards the planet image on the nearby screen swiping his left arm left and bringing the holographic image of Naboo with him. "This is the planet where our newest operation, codenamed Kickback, will happen. The planet is called Naboo and it is the homeworld of the man who rules the empire that the rebellion is fighting against." Several murmurs echo through the bridge at that revelation, but Sander raises his hand after a moment and the murmurs instantly quiet down. "I know that this is a daunting task, and I can't promise that everyone returns from this mission. Though I will do my damnest to ensure that happens. Now, the main rebellion will be fighting the space battle from above. They will send troops down to recover prisoners, and could provide reinforcements to us, but we shouldn't count on them or their effectiveness, so we'll essentially be on our own. This here…" He then points to the hologram at a particular point which glows red, "is a city named Theed. This is the place where everything will be occurring. We will land on the outskirts of the city and break into the city by three main groups. Max will lead an attack on the city itself. Plant the strongest bombs we have in the most imperial-occupied areas and raise as much ruckus as possible. Ten good troops of your choosing will accompany you. Wizard, you will take Dr. Graydotter and five other officers to the imperial palace, which is the biggest and fanciest building in the city, to confiscate data on imperial bases and any other data of interest."

"They'll never knew what hit them. Not with the new features I have." Wiz states, lifting up his robotic arm and lifting up his middle finger. Sander raises an eyebrow, but then a long yet thin spike juts out from the fingertip.

"I see. Well, Boomstick, take ten AK-130s and make sure all of the data is collected." The lieutenant spits out the beer he's been chugging.

"Oh fine." He grumbles bitterly.

"What will I do, Captain?" Penny asks in an innocent manner, tilting her head to the side.

"Penny, you will stay on the ship with the rest of our troops and drones. This is our fall-back zone, and we'll land 10 klicks west of Theed. Without this ship, no one's leaving the planet any time soon. Yang, you and I will directly attack the palace itself and really hit them where it hurts."

Max steps forward. "Permission to speak…"

"Of course you do. What's up?"

"Aren't we overextending our reach? With the numbers we have, we can't last for long against the stormtrooper's numbers, no matter how clumsy some of them are?"

Sander simply nods. "We're not planning on taking the planet, we're getting out of here as soon as what we have is in our grasp. Besides, if we can employ guerrilla tactics and hit multiple places at once, then we can spread them out just as much, if not more. Now, once the data's been collected, then a coded message will be sent out and everyone will evacuate to the _Vytal_ in 15. Any stragglers left will have to be left behind. Understood?" Several murmurs of agreement break out amongst the crew. "Good. Get our asses to Naboo, officers."

The ship lurches into action and the officers prepare for the tasks they have been given. The _Vytal_ once again starts moving through space at a greater pace than before, and after the flash of light dies down, the planet of Naboo is directly ahead. There are several imperial star destroyers, but they are focused on something else. "What's with the floating lamps?" Yang asks incredulously. Sander looks closer. They aren't lamps, but the empire seems to be building several dozen satellites that are floating in space with long barrels sticking out at the bottom. For what purpose these serve, no one is really sure, but Sander has a nasty feeling in his gut about them regardless.

They pass by the ships, which are too occupied with the satellites' construction, and make their way through the atmosphere and onto the forested swamplands near Theed. As the ship sets down, several trees are knocked down and the wind ripples around it. The hatch to the outside world opens up, letting Sander, who is already dressed in civilian clothes of a loose white shirt and black workout pants, and Yang in her usual look, out onto the planet. "Alright. Are you ready?"

His partner nods and together, they start making their way through the forest via the Force's guidance towards the city. Despite landing a considerable distance from the city, they manage to arrive in a timely manner to the clean streets of Theed. The duo, hand in hand, take in the sights everywhere, as imperials walk past them without giving them any special attention. Eventually, though, they stop walking down the main streets and start sneaking through the back alleys and over buildings before the Theed palace finally comes into view. Yang and even Sander are in slight awe of the massive stone structure before them. "I vaguely remember some stories of Naboo's beauty, but to see it in person…" They continue on and on, sneaking past imperial stormtroopers standing guard at the front of the gleaming palace. Once at the side, they climb onto the side of the palace and make their way next to the nearest glass window with a duo of stormtroopers passing inside. Slowly, Sander pulls out Star Blaster and converts it to lightsaber mode while Yang lifts up her arms. After a moment, he slashes a circle into the glass window and pushes it inward, then uses the Force to keep the circle from smashing on the ground. The troops notice, but Yang lunges forward and holds out both arms in the process. They collide with their heads and her power slams them onto the ground. Within seconds, they are knocked out cold. As she looks around for any other threats, Sander fits the glass back into the window. "You take the upstairs, take anyone who spots you down. I'm going down below."

She nods and they both go their separate ways. He starts making his way through the long corridors, either hiding when large squads pass by or cutting pairs in half and hiding the bodies in the bathroom or other places. On and on it goes until he reaches the palace courtyards right behind the palace. Another trooper is in the back, but by the time he realizes what's happening, Sander gets behind him and stabs the man in the throat. He pulls the body out and hides it inside a nearby bush and positioned to where it's mostly out of view. He then looks up and notices a giant circular stone building in the center of the field, surrounded by tall trees bearing strange fruit with the Force emanating strongly from the building. Figuring that there could be someone inside the building, he walks up to the metal doors, uses the Force to transform the lightsaber into sword mode, and waves his hand. The metal door's panel glows green and the doors slide wide open, revealing two people who are most certainly not stormtroopers.

Both of them are some years younger than Sander, maybe 17 or 18, but boy are they armed. The one on the left is a pretty chick dressed in full red Mandalorian battle armor and carrying belts full of explosives and a sniper rifle on her back. The one on the right, however, is slightly more muscular while wearing steel grey-colored Mandalorian armor while missing his helmet. The man has a small scar over his right eye, blue eyes, and deep blue hair. For some reason, he looks very much like an old…associate of Sander's, but that's impossible simply because he'd be much older than Sander's at this point.

"Um, hello? I…come in peace?" Sander asks awkwardly and raising his free hand. The man chuckles slightly.

"It's alright, Sander. We're not here to fight." He then holds out one hand but Sander lifts his sword to his chest and stares at him warily.

"How do you know my name?" A long tense moment passes, but the girl in mandalorian armor steps between the two.

"Look. Why don't we cut this meeting short and get going? We can talk later when we're not at risk of being found."

Sander smirks slightly, figuring that she has some protectiveness for the boy. Maybe they're hitting. Anyway, back to business. They all turn around to hear several shouts outside the mausoleum. A group of three black-armored stormtroopers marches towards them and lifts up their blasters. "Freeze! Drop your weapons and place your hands behind your head." The lead trooper barks.

While the guy and gal hesitate, Sander smirks as an idea pops into his mind. He starts lowering himself to the ground, holding out the sword. As the troops let their guard down, Sander spins 360 degrees and lets go of the sword at the end. It spins in the air and impales itself into the trooper's chest. In a burst of speed, he charges forward while dodging blaster shots and rips the blade out, stabbing the second trooper in the chest and then swinging in an overhead manner to split the third troop's head in half. He lets out some deep breaths as the corpse slips off the blade and onto the ground. The first trooper he stabbed in the chest suddenly lurches upward while firing his blaster, leaving a slight burn on the side of his face but he manages to transform his blade to a shotgun and blasts the trooper's head off in a single blast. "Fuck. I forgot to bring spare ammo." He then transforms the blade back into a sword and looks to his companions, who stand there with confusion and…fear? Oh well. "Sorry about that. I get a little carried away sometimes. We never got introduced. I'm Sander Blanco, the super-fighting knight. And you are?"

The Force reaches out to him, and Sander barely ducks under an oncoming boomerang-shaped lightsaber blade while the man pulls out a lightsaber hilt and activates the blue blade, slashing upward and it flies high, landing in the hands of a short, one-armed man wearing thick black armor, a pointed nose, and red lenses. "Not bad, Pennsylvania." The short man states.

Sander freezes in place, shock plastered all over his face. This wasn't true, was it? "No, no, no. That guy's been gone for years. I'd know if this was Agent Pennsylvania."

The short figure starts laughing loudly at Sander's outburst. "You're really an idiot, aren't you? Sander Blanco, you've grown up from being a lucky little brat. Though it won't matter, you ought to know that he is your long-lost friend, Karel Allusis."

Sander slowly shakes his head, not believing this is happening. Just then, large explosions go off in the distance, inducing loud screams and the sounds of combat can be heard raging in the distance. As if that wasn't enough, even more explosions go off as several A-wing rebel fighters start descending towards the planet and conducting aerial bombings of distant targets, causing even more pillars of smoke to rise into the air. The black-armored agent chuckles slightly. "So the cowards decided to grow up and fight. I wonder how everyone will react when they find out Queen Kylantha is dead by my hand."

Silence fills the fields. "Why?" The girl asks dangerously, lifting up twin blasters from her hip belts.

"You think that everything revolves around the rebellion and empire. Well, greater forces are at play here than you can comprehend. But it matters not, as you'll be dead soon enough." The little man charges forward with the weapon and swings his blade.

The duo then leaps into action, with the girl blasting the short man while the lightsaber-wielding man charged forward and slashed relentlessly. "For years you have had your way. To kill whomever you please when you please. But it's made you soft, and incapable of accepting failure. That's why you come back again and again until you have your way. But there's a problem with that…" The man states as he uses the Force to pull the man forward in a burst before stabbing his blade through the shocked opponent's heart. "is why you fail." The corpse then collapses on the ground amongst the dead troops.

"I thought he'd be harder." The girl states.

"No, he wasn't at his strongest by a long shot." Just then, another A-wing passes by overhead for another aerial bombardment of laser blasts, but the TIE fighters have entered the fight and fires upon the fighter. While the TIE fighter does get shot down, the A-wing gets hit in the process, making it spin out of control and crash into a spot not far away.

The guy and girl let out a loud groan simultaneously. "That was out ship." The girl comments, irritated.

The guy then turns to Sander. "I know we only just met, but do you mind if you could take us with you if you're planning on leaving this planet?"

The knight in question stares at the man. Is this the Karel of old? While all ounce of logic points to the contrary, he can't be sure. "Yes. I have several troops here now that can take these bastards down. We just need to meet up with them. But seriously, who are you?"

"Brent." The man says.

"Bora." The girl answers, and seemingly giving a look to Brent.

"A pleasure. Now, let's move." Together, they make their way back into the palace where several stormtroopers are closing in slowly onto a group of AK-130s and Boomstick as he protects the unarmed officers. He fires another blast from his rocket launcher and blows up a stromtrooper, but gets hit in the shoulder by the others. "Hang on!" He then charges at them, converting sword to lightsaber mode and uses the white blade to hack the survivors to pieces.

"Damn, man. That was close. Thanks for castrating those dicks." Boomstick states as he's finished reloading.

"Anytime. Wiz, do we have the data?"

"Right here." Wiz states, lifting up a briefcase. "Only thing, the queen was dead when we got there."

"I know." Sander then gestures to Brent and Bora. "These hitchhikers took care of him."

Just then, he feels a deep thumping on the side of his leg. He then pulls out the comm device given to him by the _Ghost_ crew, specifically Kanan, and the hologram shows Kanan looking determined. "We've achieved the mission. We need to leave before more we take too many casualties."

"Understood." Sander then looks up with determination. "Wizard, send out the signal and get back to the ship. I'll find Yang and make sure she's okay. Go!"

He then charges off with the duo trailing behind him only to stop at the end of the hall as another trooper collapses down a flight of stairs and remains knocked out, and Yang steps down, her gauntlets fully activated and smoking heavily. "Hey, babe." She then notices Sander's two companions. "Who are they again? I don't know them."

"These are some friends I've made while you're gone. And I see you've made a few as well." He then notices several troops behind them and they duck for cover.

"Eh, what can I say? I have a talent for it. So, are we going to take these guys down or not?" As Yang finishes her face lights up considerably. "Hey, Sander? Remember that team move we made several years ago?"

The knight blanches and his mouth falls open. "I'm not doing Fire Dragon again."

Yang rolls her eyes playfully. "You're no fun." She then uses a shot to blast open the window next to them before jumping out.

Sander sighs. "That woman's going to be the death of me one day." He then jumps out as well, followed by their companions and make their way back through the gardens and even past the mausoleum they were at. As they approach the cliffside, a fighter floats next to the edge and the hatch opens.

"Get in, friendly captain!" Penny shouts as the quartet land inside and hurdles them through the air. Eventually, they reach the _Vytal_ as it continues to sit idly on the swampy fields.

"Get us off the ground! We'll pick up our forces along the way." Sander barks at the officers, who instantly comply. The ship slowly rises into the air as several other dropships sent out by great pilots on Penny's orders start returning to the ship and dropping off their passengers. Out of the 41 who left on their missions, 36 of them came back healthy. But still, that's five soldiers too many for Sander's liking, though they are quickly learning creative tactics and experience.

"Sir! One of the big ships is coming right for us!" One of the officers calls out and everyone looks up to see a giant star destroyer hovering above them, casting a long shadow. Sander stares up at the ship and his face hardens considerably.

"Get this ship moving forward." The ship then moves slowly and upward. The star destroyer rains down laser fire, and as Sander hoped, some of the lasers miss their ship though several of them hit them. Picking up speed, they manage to lift up to the level of the star destroyer that tries to hit them but can't as their turbo lasers don't have the angle to hit them. "Now! Concentrate all plasma batteries into our starboard side and fire at will." Within moments, blue lights are streaking through the sky as every laser impacts with the enormous star destroyer. While most lasers don't do much damage, they do noticeably scorch its surface, but some lucky shots impact the energy shield generators and the bridge. Upon exploding, the ship suddenly starts collapsing away from the _Vytal_ and starts sinking into the swamps below, crashing hard and taking down several trees in the process.

The bridge roars with applause at the victory and even Sander lets out a sigh of relief as the ship leaves the war-torn city littered with rebel and imperial corpses and re-enters space. Those ships aren't indestructible like most think, though it took an extraordinary amount of luck and at full power to take it down. Next time, being ready on how to take them down en-masse and without relying on luck is of paramount importance. Now to the important task at hand.

He then turns around and sees Brent and Bora. "Welcome, newcomers. Could you please follow me to your new quarters?"

He then leads them through the narrow halls and up the elevator shaft to the soldier's quarters. Since several of the soldiers died valiantly in battle, several of these rooms are unoccupied. He then leads them to an already-cleared out room; though Private Christopher Walker didn't really have much in the ways of decorating to begin with. He then steps aside and lets them into the dorm before walking in. "Can you please sit here?" He then guides them to a bare table that seats four in the corner and they sit there. "I thank you for helping us in this great battle. For now, you are allowed to stay and enjoy our accommodations until we can get you home one way or another. Mandalore, I'm guessing?"

Bora nods but Brent surprisingly shakes his head. "Alderaan."

Sander's smile wavers. "You're a long way from home, I think. I confess, it's been a long time since I've seen the galaxy so I have no idea. Though it's odd that an outsider would wear Mandalorian armor. From what I hear, they're very protective about it."

"It is. But he's the closest thing I will ever have to a family now." Bora states bluntly, making Brent smile slightly.

Sander nods in agreement. "Well, we all need some of that, especially nowadays. Though, there is one last question I have for you, Brent. Earlier, that man we fought on the palace grounds called you Karel Allusis, though he's gone now. I've known liars for a long time, but what's troubling was how certain he was in your identity. So, I have to ask. Who are you, really?"

Brent and Sander stare each other down before Brent sighs. "Dragonfist was certain because I worked with him many years ago. Yes, Sander…" He then looks up with a slight look of shame. "I am Karel."

Sander sits in his chair, his face turning increasingly disbelieving as he felt no deception and finally understanding why he feels and looks so familiar. Then, baring his teeth and growling, he grabs Karel by the throat and throws him to the ground. "You little fucking bitch!" He then starts punching Karel in the face over and over again, while Sander's eyes go increasingly wide and his grin goes wider and wider.

"Stop! I had to leave…"

"Shut your goddamn trap, you cat-fucking beta male! You never had to leave me or the Order ever; you left us while the clones gunned us down and fucked our corpses. No, you don't eat, sleep, or fight the good fight. You just want to fuck your dog-hating whore all day long!" By this point, his punches and the occasional kneeing of the stomach area start to draw blood from their victim.

Bora breaks from her shock and leaps up, pulling Sander off of Karel. "Stop it, both of you! You, I understand why you're mad but killing him won't solve anything! And Karel." She then helps him up. "You need to defend yourself better than that." As she's helping Karel recover from the outburst, she glares daggers at Sander.

He takes several deep breaths as he tightens and loosens his fists over and over again before letting out a long sigh. "Alright, alright, calm down. Okay, I'm sorry that happened, I really am and I hope we can move past this on two conditions. One, I want you to explain to me how you disappeared into thin air 15 years ago and how you barely look older than when you left. And two, I want you to stay onboard this ship and you can help us. I don't reject the accommodations I give you nor ban you from the socials or the games held onboard. You can make this all up by helping my crew and I return home to our families. Do you agree to this?"

Karel faintly nods and Bora reluctantly does so as well. "Alright." She states.

Sander nods and leaves the dorm, the door shutting closed on them. The knight leans against the wall and sighs. "I hope you uphold your end of the bargain because I intend to do so. If I suspect either of you of breaking that rule altogether, then I'll have to act on it." With that, he pushes himself away from the wall and returns to his own cabin to rest after the day he's had. Maybe then he'll drop in on the troops and join them in their legendary competition of horseshoes.

* * *

 _AN:_ So, what did everyone think about this chapter?

I figured I'd add an original scene featuring the Ghost crew since I doubt all of their adventures were shown in Rebels, so I would extrapolate on them. And as for Karel being back… he's back to finish his job he started 15 years before.

Check out dragonzlayerz12's version of this story to get the other side of the story about how this happened.

PS: Due to an upcoming trip, please don't expect any updates for almost the entire month of June. Sorry about the inconvenience, and I hope everyone has a decent summer.


	6. Pisces Maximus

**1730 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; Two Hours after the Mission to Naboo**

 **Space**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

"Anything yet, officer?"

"No, commander Peterson. Communications are still dark."

The red-haired and fully armored huntsman sighs internally in frustration, but maintains his composure. It has already been almost an hour since the rescue operation on Naboo, and things haven't exactly gone well for the crew in that time. For one thing, the officers failed to apply the correct coordinates to the ship computer, so the beamspace drive dumped them off at another planet apparently called Malastare. For another, the main communications relay was damaged by the star destroyer when they made their dangerous maneuver, and while Penny managed to activate a secondary relay, it can only reach out so far; if the last five minutes have taught any of them anything.

"Alright. Cut off our broadcast. We don't want to be discovered by any unwanted parties." As the officers comply with the order, Max reigns in frustration. His captain is busy right now talking with the new arrivals, Brent and Bora, about something that sounded pretty damn important. While Sander has made many mistakes as long as the duo have known each other, and him becoming increasingly distant as of late, he is still a friend and can be trusted for right now.

Time seems to be non-existent as the _Vytal_ aimlessly orbits around Malastare, waiting for something to happen. This is an extremely dangerous idea, but since they aren't already being shot at since they arrived at the planet's orbit, it's pretty clear imperials have minimal to no presence here. "Commander? Commander!" Max is broken by his thoughts as he looks at the communication officer who is looking at him with concern.

"Status report."

"We are detecting strange radio waves coming from the planet below us. It seems like some form of communication wave, but it's unlike any we've seen before. Not that it's a surprise anymore."

Max looks at the officer. Something in his gut is telling him that this message is one of considerable importance to him. "Can I listen to it for a second, officer?" He nods in agreement and walks over to the station, pulling out a pair of headphones. But once he starts listening to the crackles and metallic groans on the other end, he nearly drops the headphones in complete shock. It may have been over a decade since the final battle on his home planet of Cybertron, but he'd know the civilian language of Iacon any day. The message is repeating itself over and over again; a distress signal sent by an Autobot named Air Raid about a crash-landed ship filled with thousands of Autobot soldiers and leftover civilians surrounded by Decepticons. He lets his mouth hang open for a minute before closing it. "The signal has a strange metallic ringing to it. I may not understand it, but the subtle tones in it indicate a distress call of sorts. Give me the coordinates, and I'll check it out."

The officers look at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Commander! You can't go over the captain's head like this!"

"Then give me the coordinates of where this wave is originating from, and I'll bring it to him." The edge that had worked its way into his voice despite a calm composure usually makes the officers give him suspicious looks, but the communications officer complies. "Thank you… I'm sorry, forgive me, I never got your name. What was it?"

"Lieutenant Token Bear, sir." While the tone given was somewhat calm, it is clear to the ex-Autobot that he was annoyed.

"Right. Thank you." With that, Max walks out of the bridge, and the second he is out of site, he sprints down the hallways in a desperate effort to reach the docking bay. It took a mere minute, but he reaches the bay and makes his way to one of the transport ships, with half a dozen deactivated androids on standby.

"And where do you think you're going?" Doctor Grey asks as he passes by, but doesn't get an answer as he gets himself seated inside the escape pod. Pressing several of the buttons inside, the pod instantly ejects itself from the _Vytal_ , rocketing towards Malastare faster than any of the other ships resting in the ship's docking bay. While taking those ships would have been more efficient, this is a time-consuming matter and he would need Sander's permission first.

He isn't sure exactly how long he is in the escape pod, but after some amount of time, the pod starts broadcasting the proximity to impact alarm, to which Max starts operating the pod's control panel, and soon enough, contained nitrogen is ejected from the pod to raise it up 30 degrees, enough for the pod to start skidding along the ground violently rather than taking a complete nose-dive. Though soon enough, the pod comes to a stop and silence returns.

After a long moment, Max makes his way to the entrance to the pod and punches it with all his might, pumping a touch of cybertronian strength into it. The door flies off the hinges and Max steps out into the atmosphere. Letting out a sigh of relief, he concentrates on the spark of light within his mental state, consciousness floating towards the spark and him grabbing it with his right hand. A tug all too familiar to him encases his senses and the world around him seems to grow smaller, and his original form returns to view in its blazing red glory and glorious curved horns on his helmet which stretchs down past his grey skinned face. As the Autobot strolls across the barren, rocky fields in search of the transmission's source, his mind returns to a time many years ago being reminded by the grim surroundings. He was a mere prisoner in those days, a prisoner at the fields of Kaon, a place that lives up to its reputation and exceeds them. Maddening heat and pain greeted him every waking hour of his months trapped inside the prison after his entire squad was found and killed. In fact, if Bumblebee hadn't opened the cells for the entire prison complex, he holds no illusions of making it out of that hell alive.

As he's walking along, he comes to the edge of a rather steep cliff that looks out upon more barren fields. He stares out at the fields, scanning on all types of vision open to him, he faintly hears a persistent buzzing noise. Letting out a slight gasp, he slides to the right and narrowly avoids the rocket aimed for his head, which explodes on the barren fields below and sending up a dust storm below. He looks behind him and three other cybertronians of an aerial style are staring back at him, all of whom have glowing purple lights and a symbol emblazoned on their chestplates that has haunted Max's dreams for all his life.

"What do we have here? Small fry that is fast?" The leader mockingly asks before shifting his weapon to one with a longer shaft that resembles a sniper rifle. "The great Commander Shrapnel* shall be the first to draw blood on this worthless planet! Get him!" The trio leap into the air and transform into plane modes before firing upon the lone Autobot.

He only slides forward in a similar manner to the character of one of Sander's favorite video games, Ultra Man. He then leaps into the air with his momentum and grabs one of the Decepticons' wings. Swinging himself onto his back, he activates the Neutron Assault Rifle he's had on him since breaking out of the prison fields, and fires into the cockpit. The other fighters hit Max's back, making him grunt in pain, so he lets go and the remaining laser blasts hit the unfortunate Decepticon who crashes into the ground and explodes in a blue ball of fire. Max skids on the ground before raising his gun again and firing a long stream of bullets at the other Decepticon right above. Most of the bullets miss but the ones that do make contact hit the far-right wing, making the enemy transform back into his robot form. Letting out a roar of rage, he charges forward with a purple energy blade. Max tries to fire again, but the gun clicks loudly. He growls in frustration, and activates both his energy blades and stabs them into the ground, slashing upward to create a dust cloud. Before he can adjust to the cloud, Max stabs the Decepticon in both legs, and as he screams in pain, he brings both blades to his neck in an X shape and slash outwards, killing him instantly.

As Max makes the cut, a blaster shot hits him on his back. Shouting in pain, he collapses to the ground and Shrapnel walks into his line of sight. "You fought well, Autobot. But not well enough." He then raises his blaster up and is about to fire upon Max's face when suddenly another blaster shot goes off, sending Shrapnel back. The commander looks to the source of the blast, growls in defiance, yet transforms back into jet mode and flies away. Max looks to see who had saved him, but his vision turns blurry from the blast which hit him underneath his armor and within moments, darkness encases his view.

"…never thought I'd see him again." Someone is saying in the Iacon tongue as Max regains his consciousness. All around him is a metallic chamber that resembles an infirmary, and his back on a cold surface.

Just then, a large red Autobot sticks its face right into Max's, making him flinch heavily. "Well, our patient is awake!"

"…Ambulon?" Max mutters before trying to sit up, only for his back to protest violently.

"Take it easy, Pisces!" Ambulon states, making his way to steady the ex-Autobot. "You got hit in an unprotected aft with a sniper blast. It's a miracle you're even conscious so soon."

"How long?"

"One megacycle."

In that moment, the door slides upward and a slimmer Autobot steps in with armor painted black and white, with red highlights against the armor and the Autobot symbol in the center of the chestplate. Lastly, a police helmet holding a thick faceplate covering his mouth and a yellow visor to cover his eyes protects his head. The Autobot stops in place and the duo stare at each other.

"Prowl?" Max asks with shaky Iacon, battling through the pain as he forces himself onto his feet. Ambulon squawks in protest, but is shaken off.

"Pisces Maximus." Prowl then strolls his way through the infirmary before looking him over long and hard. "There are some others who wish to meet you now."

"But… but…" Ambulon stutters in outrage, but the duo make their way through the long corridors of the Autobot ship. The closest door loudly groans in protest, but swings outward in all directions. What caught Max off-guard was that huge chunks of the ship were missing and replaced with rocks.

"What happened here?" Max asks, increasingly concerned.

"Some organics were ransacking our ship and one of them accidentally activated Hound. A few of them escaped, but only after Hound kicked them in their turbochargers."

"What did these organics look like?"

"They were wearing some form of black armor and had some interesting rifles that hurt to be hit by. If Ironhide were here, he'd be beside himself to look at 'em."

Max stops in place, looking at Prowl, realizing just who was behind this shabby excavation. "Did they leave anything behind?"

Prowl looks at him suspiciously. "Yes, they did leave a blackbox containing something strange."

Before Max can ask to see the data, a second door opens revealing a rather large bridge with Autobot crews working around the clock to perform different tests for the ship, with the window looking out only shows grey. The duo then make their way to the front, where another familiar face is awaiting them. "Kup?"

The Autobot turns around, revealing a short-bearded face, dull blue optics, but a determined face regardless. His armor is reminiscent of a Wrecker with a hammer at his side and shield on his left wrist. He looks surprised for a moment but then smiles slightly. "Pisces. It's good to see you again. Welcome onto the _Longbow_."

Max then waves his hand slightly. "You too, Kup. I see things are getting rocky around here." He and Prowl stare at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, I've spent too much time with friends."

By this point, some of the crew members stop working and are staring at Max. "You, getting along with organics?" Kup asks skeptically.

"Wow. I bet you were the smallest of the bunch." Prowl states sarcastically.

"Enough." Max states impatiently. "Look, I don't deny this being awesome, seeing you all again. But I've got things to do." He then turns back to Prowl. "What was in the data left behind by the humans who were here?"

By now, everyone's stopped working and are muttering among each other. "You're leaving us?" One of the crew members asks hesitantly.

Max sighs deeply. "It's not so simple. There is a greater conflict in the galaxy rising up. Like it or not, I have a part in it, so I'm doing what I can to help where I can. And that data could be essential to turning the tides of that war."

Kup scratches his chin in thought before nodding. "You remind me of a story of many eager recruits to the Autobots. Each one believed they were special or were invincible. Then they'd pay with their lives.

"I'm not stating I'm special invincible. If I was, I'd be boasting of fending off Shpranel by myself and destroying him to save my pride. What I say is true, and while we're here arguing, the war is one step closer to fruition. Now will you help me or not?" The outburst is something Max honestly can't believe he let out, but for some reason, it felt good.

Silence reigns while Kup looks saddened for a split moment, but hardens his face. "I see. If you truly are a part of a greater war, then let us give you a task to help us all. Exactly 1,000 klicks to the northwest, there is a Decepticon base made from their ship terribly named _Victory_. Ever since they have awoken from their stasis, they have been assaulting our ship. We have lost several of our people, but have held them back. But for the last cycle, they've pulled back and done nothing. Shrapnel has broken the trend."

Max understands what he needs to do immediately, and frowns deeply. "You expect me to break into a Decepticon base alone?"

Kup chuckles darkly. "What, were you expecting me to say yes? You'll be taking Prowl with you. Do you, Pisces Maximus, accept this burden?"

Max looks around at the hopeful expressions everyone is giving him and, in that moment, makes his choice. "We will not fail."

"Good. Now get going." Kup then gets himself seated in the captain's chair. As Prowl and Max are leaving the bridge, Kup talks to someone named Spanner.

Soon, they are outside the crashed ship, with the main entrance into the ship being the only way in or out of the ship. "So, we infiltrate a 'Con warship and save not only the Autobots but the universe itself. So yeah, no pressure." Prowl states sarcastically.

Max simply nods. Prowl nods back and transforms into a police car form. Max huffs and concentrates on transforming. He grunts and grunts, but to his shock, nothing happens. Prowl instantly takes notice. "What's wrong?"

"I can't transform into a vehicle form." Max simply states, surprised himself. To be fair, he hadn't transformed into his old form, a rather burly crimson muscle car, since he gained his human transformation. To this day, how that happened still baffles him. "But between us, I do have another transformation." He then re-concentrates, this time on the human form he is now so familiar with. Instantly, the metallic skin on his body turns a light tan, his red hair returns to his scalp, and his size reverts back to being 5' 11."

"What in the name of Prime?" Prowl gawks, stunned by what he had seen. Max then walks to Prowl's driver door, his vehicle form being no larger than police cars back on Remnant somehow.

"Let's go." Prowl immediately complies and they are speeding down the rocky fields.

"What happened to you when you left on the _Dying Star_?" That is the question of the last decade, but one that has no real answer. Thus, Max decided to tell it from the beginning.

"My ship carried many wounded troops and civilians who were left behind and never joined either side. Honestly, it was mere luck that we made it past Trypticon to begin with, and our destination was the remote world of Velocitron. It has always been a vacation home for council members in the past, so captain Fortress Maximus figured that would be the perfect place to start a new life. Unfortunately, we were followed by the Decepticons. I'll never forget the soldiers' battle cries as Astrotrain, the…fucker, dropped them off at our doors, eager to kill everyone and mutilate our corpses for fun. Poor Scrounge was the first to go, getting melted in half by the plasma cutters. At least he used that fancy arm of his to shock one of the attackers to death. After that, it was chaos. Autobots against Decepticons, with Astrotrain leading the attack. The bodies were everywhere, and it seemed for every 'Con I killed, two more took its place. That's when I realized that without a leader, 'Cons were merely muscles without any control. That's right; I took on Astrotrain on the wing of our ship. That bastard was tougher than he looked, and more devious than his loud-mouthed habits led me to believe. But in that moment, as I drive both my blades into his heart, he let loose a secret blade and ended up stabbing me too. I don't remember what happened after that since I only saw white for the longest time, but I remember a voice telling me that everything will be alright and the next thing I know, I wake next to a body of water in the form you see now."

For once, Prowl remains silent and listens to the story. "That is…" Just then, a button starts glowing inside the vehicle. "Oh frag! 'Cons approaching!"

"Let me out!" Max shouts, jumping out of the instantly-opened door and transforming back into his Autobot form. He briefly notices that the assault rifle on his arm feels heavier than it did, and checks. Sure enough, it had been restocked with ammo while he was unconscious. He then looked back up at the two dozen Decepticon footsoldiers approaching. Smirking, he has his left arm activate the red energy blade and charges forward before firing upon the burly troops in the front who fires a rocket at him which misses. It took an entire clip, but he succeeds in killing the 'Con by the time he reaches the front line. He then slashes under another 'Con's armor, headbutted him, and used his momentum to pull the blade out, and stabbed him in the face. As Prowl is fighting off most of the herd with ease, three more Decepticons come charging at Max with blasters firing at him. Thinking fast, he aligns the 'Con's body to take the brunt of the blaster shots then charged toward them while firing from behind cover. Another enemy fell by the time he reached the growing numbers after him, and threw the corpse on the front three troopers, knocking them down. Wasting no time, he stabbed each of them in the face before they could get up.

A fourth 'Con recklessly charges forward with energy blades activated and a determined expression, to which Max slices both his arms off in one swing then replaces his other arm with the other energy blade and stabs him in the chest. The last few 'Cons look like they're about to shit themselves, and nearly drop their weapons in panic as they start running away. Prowl, using his energy daggers, cuts them down to size. The two Autobots look all around them for anymore enemies, and are instead met with a field of corpses. "Not bad. Form could use some work, but it was effective regardless." Prowl states as he deactivates his weapons. "They should think we're scrapped by now. Let's sneak onto their ship while they still believe it."

Max nods and they continue along their path until reaching a rather large mountain. But the closer they get to the structure, the more apparent it is…. "That's no mountain. It's a battleship."

Sure enough, it's a massive battleship, buried under piles and piles of rocks. Despite no Decepticons lurking out-front, the duo held no illusions about this. But as they continue approaching, Prowl stops walking. "Get down!" He then lunges onto Max's back and forces him to the ground. A second later, a small spherical drone flies overhead and emits a green beam in all directions, but missing the Autobots as they had hidden behind a rock. A second later, the drone stops its patrol and starts flying back to the _Victory_ crash-site.

"Security drones?" Max guesses, having seen them from time to time during the war. Prowl nods.

"A scout patrol tried to sneak past them once with cloaking devices, but whatever equipment the drones are equipped them allow them to see through cloaking. They are also heavily sensitive to motion, so the scouts never stood a chance."

Max ponders the situation before looking around at the scenery, and an idea comes to mind, leading to a dangerous plan that could go anyway, really. "Prowl, you stay here. I'm going to transform back into my alt form and infiltrate the base."

"Have your optics been scrambled? You can't sneak past the drones like that."

"Did you notice the drones? They may be motion-sensitive, but organics are such insects to the 'Cons that they might be able to slip through without being noticed. It's our only shot. Will you help me or not?"

Prowl and Max glare at each other before the former officer relents. "May the Allspark be with you."

"You too, buddy." With that, Max concentrates on the transformation, and reverts back to the form he is familiar with. Getting out from behind cover, he starts to make his way along the kilometer of rocky fields that separate the Autobots from the crash-site.

As he ducks and weaves his way through the rough terrain, he takes care to hide from the drones that are out and about. In fact, the closer to the ship he gets, the more drones are around. By a miracle, and possibly the Force, he makes it to the side entrance of the _Victory_. Even luckier, as he approaches the doorway, it swings wide open and two more Aerialbots come into view. "The strike force is taking too long." One of them states in a monotonous manner that would make conversations nearly impossible.

"Lord Straxus wants all Decepticons on deck for when we unleash our secret weapon. We need to ensure the Autobots on our scanners have been scrapped first." His companion replies, then both of them transform and start flying away. As Max leaps through the doorway, he gets caught in the door as it starts shutting. Through some acrobatics, he drops himself on the other side of the door just as it finishes closing.

Max lets out a sigh of regret. If only he could warn Prowl about the upcoming Aerialbots, but in order to maintain stealth, he has to go dark. Slowly but surely, he treks through the well-lit corridors. "If anyone can show me a sign that says 'this way to the weapon,' I'd greatly appreciate it." Max mutters sarcastically, already dreading the trek. It's a big enough ship that in Autobot form, it would take hours to explore every inch of the ship, but in human form, it would be easily twice that amount of time.

Just then, he hears loud stomping approaching and hides in a nice, dark corner as a Decepticon walks by carrying a crate filled with Primus-knows-what. Figuring this was his break, Max sprints as fast as possible towards the leg, lunging forward and barely gripping the edge of the 'Con's armor. Grunting with effort, he tucks himself underneath the armor and lets his unassuming ride take him wherever he's going. After a tense 10 minutes, he stops. "New shipment to Shockwave?"

"Yeah, that's right. I have the last tool the slaghead wants to distribute the cybercrosis Z virus." Upon hearing that, Max's grip on the under armor loosens and he nearly falls out, but manages to catch himself. How can these fools think using the most dangerous virus in Cybertron's long history, a virus that swiftly kills both Autobots and Decepticons, is a good idea? And Shockwave, didn't he stay behind on Cybertron to assist Megatron?

"What is Shockwave thinking with this? If this plan backfires, it could kill us too!" Apparently, there are others who share Max's sentiment.

"Orders are orders. See you on the bridge." The delivery boy then continues along his journey and passes through another door. "Doctor! I've brought your delivery!"

Silently, Max decides this moment would be the right time to move. He drops from out of his niche, and walks out from cover. He is in a massive circular room with a metal pillar in the center that has an empty section. He then notices a table and sneaks under it as the delivery boy and Shockwave are conversing about something. After a considerable amount of time, the soldier salutes the scientist and leaves while Shockwave goes back to work, taking a glass container from the crate that was delivered and slipping it into a box out of Max's sight, then returns to view with the vial containing a swirling brown gas inside, no doubt the cybercrosis. He then sets the vial down on the nearby table, and starts working again.

The huntsman peeks his head out from cover, noticing the vial with a needle at one end sitting there innocently, primed and ready to unleash death and destruction. But wait… there is still time. If he can somehow deactivate whatever is keeping the virus stabilized, it might destroy itself since cybercrosis can't last in plain air. While the Decepticon scientist's back is turned to him, Max makes his move. He runs out from cover and towards the spot where Shockwave was at for one point.

Using his climbing skills from when he used to be a mountain climber back on Remnant, he climbed higher and higher up until reaching the top. Right in front of him is a lever that can be pulled to his right. The red panel next to the lever reads that the lever is used for emergency use and should only be used in the direst situations. Well, now is that time.

Right as Max makes his way to the lever, he is suddenly grabbed from behind by something extremely large. The Autobot in disguise tries pushing his way out of the arm with all his might, but the hand encasing him is too strong, before he is let go, inside of a glass vial in the pillar. The glass suddenly slides upward, and completely encases him. Max sprints to one end and punches it with all his might, but the glass is so thick that the punch not only doesn't dent the glass, but nearly breaks the hand from the wrist. "What do we have here?" A robotic voice asks, and the figure lowers itself to Max's view, showing that Shockwave had found him after all. "How did you enter this facility, organic?"

"Like I'd tell you." To his frustration, the mad scientist chuckles at the answer.

"I'd assume you had snuck into Gears' armor when he wasn't looking. I'll have him punished for such carelessness. But really, you've made searching for my next test subject much easier."

"What the hell are you talking about?" By now, a horrible thought had set in, and it fills Max with complete terror.

Just then, the door swings open and another Decepticon enters. This one, despite an unrelenting exterior, makes Max's blood freeze. The flowing black cloak which has the ability to reflect the most powerful blaster shots and sticking up around his neck like a vampiric lord, bulky armor like a Wrecker, a blue helmet, chest plate and legs with red sleeves to conceal the grey cybertronian skin, and the coldest red optics. He had heard all the stories of the tyrannical ruler of the Decepticon's oldest fortress, Darkmount. And having seen the man in action, cutting down Autobots and dissenting Decepticons alike with his energy pickaxe on the day he was captured and sent to the Kaon prison fields, Straxus more than lives up to his reputation. "Have you finished yet, clone?"

Max's eyes widen. Is that why there seems to be scorn for this Shockwave? Shockwave ignores the insult and turns to the former commanding officer of Darkmount. "Yes, sir. The vials have proven to hold the virus in proper condition, and can be injected at any time. But first, I'd like to show you some of the modifications I'd made to the virus. If you'd follow me." The duo then arrives at the vial where Max is standing at. "This is an organic that seems to be native to this planet, and snuck in through Gears. Thanks to numerous studies conducted and the modifications made, the virus can act on the iron molecules in the blood of organics, destroying the method of oxygen transfer in blood and killing the host within breems."

For the first time, Max sees Straxus truly beside himself with joy; a truly disturbing sight. "It seems you're more use to me than most clones are. I want to see it in action. Now."

"Yes, commander." With that, Shockwave walks to a panel on the side of the pillar and pulls open a panel before pushing a button. In that moment, a fine needle starts lowering itself into the chamber. Max tries to kick the needle as it tries to stab him, but it's too strong and it impales itself into his chest. Then it recedes back to where it came from and the panel slides shut.

Pain unlike anything he'd felt before courses through his body, and within seconds, breathing starts to become increasingly difficult. He tries to scream, but even that dies in his throat. His mind tries to come up with a way out, but no matter what runs through his fading thoughts, only one thing comes to mind. With what little mind he has left, he calls upon his Aura to give him life. Then, to his immense relief, the pain starts ebbing away as the virus and Aura clash for dominance. With the time he bought himself, he calls upon the Force in him to revert back to his original form. Suddenly, the space grows smaller and smaller around him and smirks as he punches the glass again, this time shattering it.

The two Decepticons look shocked as fuck when Pisces Maximus returns to his form, and fires the last clip of his assault rifle into them. Shockwave's legs get shredded to pieces while Straxus is stunned from the assault. Taking advantage of this, Max slides forward and slashes Straxus along the stomach using his spare Energon reserves. He shouts at the deep gash inflicted into his chest and slides backward, tripping and falling backward. In a bout of terrible luck, he knocks the filled vial of cybercrosis into the air and it lands inside if the gash, injecting the virus into himself.

Max gulps deeply and runs to the lever on the box containing the super-weapon before pulling it towards himself. "No!" Shockwave shouts as air hisses all around them and a single vial, this one filled with a green substance. Without thinking, he grabs the vial and stabs it into himself. His vision starts to turn blurry and numbness consumes his arms but after a moment, the pain starts fading away into nothing.

But the Autobot has no time to relax as he suddenly goes flying into the wall and crashes into it. He turns around and sees Straxus, brown spots already forming on his skin and an energy pickaxe in hand. "Filthy Autobot! I will scrap you all!" He then slashes it at Pisces again, but he dodges to the side and rolls to his feet. He charges past the Shockwave clone as it lays on the ground bleeding out, then notices a red panel on the side of the door. He presses his hand on the panel and it shuts behind him, trapping both inside. In that moment, alarms start blaring and emergency lights kick in. "Alert! Alert! Intruders in the lab! Scramble immediately!"

"What the hell is with my luck?" Pisces mutters as he charges forward, coming across his first Decepticon, Gears. He side-steps the young Decepticons' Neutron Assault Rifle and ejects one of the energy blades, stabbing the 'Con right in the face. Before the body can even hit the ground, he pulls the clip of energon-based ammo out of the gun and slips it into his own. With that done, he starts trekking through the ship back the way he came.

Every now and then, he'd reach a group of Decepticons but he'd mow them down with ease. By this point, he'd reached the entrance where he'd originally entered the facility with the same panel on the side. Slapping the button, he runs out the door and was about to shut it again when he is punched in the face. Standing above him is a burly Decepticon with a cylinder-shaped head, and spikes all over his armor that is colored either black, purple, or silver. He is about to kick him again when Prowl shouts, "Barricade!"

Both cybertronians look to the inside of the ship as Prowl slides under the sealing door and leaps to his feet as it shuts behind them, trapping them outside. "You were my partner back in the days before Cybertron fell to civil war. But you have strayed so far away from justice in this conflict that you leave me no choice but to wipe you out. Prepare yourself!"

"Shut up, weakling!" Barricade growls and the two duke it out fist-to-fist. Punches, kicks, and energy blade uses used in all directions while Pisces can only stare on awe. But as Prowl seems to be gaining the upper-hand, Barricade punches him in the face then grabs his neck, then proceeds to start thrusting him against the rocky surface, but Pisces intervenes, shooting him in the back with the last bullets in his assault rifle. This broke Barricade's shields, but he is still active and mostly undamaged; the same can't be said for the wounded Prowl. Barricade growls in anger and looks at the younger Autobot. "You are all pathetic scraps to me!" He then charges at Pisces, but Prowl manages to get back onto his feet and stabs him in the back with an energy dagger.

Barricade stares at the blade for a long moment before collapsing forward and going still, energon spilling on the ground. A beaten and bleeding Prowl starts to collapse too but Pisces keeps him upright. "Come on. Let's get you back to base."

"No." Prowl mutters, then forces himself onto the ground. "I'll just slow you down. Leave me."

"I will not."

Prowl stares into Pisces's blue optics, and smiles widely. "You've changed a lot since the war. Go, and show this galaxy the true strength of the Autobots. Do it… for… me." He then lets out a long breath before he too goes still.

Pisces stares at Prowl, but instead of crying, he simply nods. "I will do that. For you, buddy, I will show everyone what I can do to protect my friends." He then hears loud explosions going off in the background, and he looks up. The drones are being torn to shreds by the Autobot forces as they charge towards the facility. For every Autobot that falls, 10 drones fall as well. Soon, the fields are clear and Kup is standing out-front with an electric blue-coated hammer in hand and staring at Prowl's body.

"Another hero has fallen today." He then looks at Pisces. "What word from the _Victory_?"

Pisces then looks up at his old mentor, and smiles slightly. "The weapon they were going to launch at the _Longbow_ , it was a specially modified cybercrosis. I wiped out the virus in the ship and killed Shockwave so no more can be made. In the confusion, Straxus was infected with the virus and is likely dead."

Kup then stares out at the shape, and for the first time ever, Pisces sees relief on Kup's face. "Perhaps it's time I took you to Drivetrain."

Pisces stares at the older Autobot in shock. "The council's alive?"

Kup sighs. "You'll see soon enough." With that, the group makes their way back to the Autobot base, with some staying behind to fuse all the entrances inside closed. Soon, the duo are wandering through the ship and to the bridge of the ship alone. Kup presses a panel on the captain's chair, and the chair slides aside to reveal thirteen stasis pods in a circle. One of the pods opens up to reveal a petite cybertronian with silver limbs, blue highlights and a visor that suddenly starts glowing red, along with the Autobot symbol on his chest. Grabbing the ceremonial spear to symbolize his status next to him, Drivetrain stands up and looks to the duo. Pisces, overwhelmed, just stands there in shock.

"Well, captain?" Drivetrain asks in a rumbling voice.

"The Decepticons had been producing cybercrosis in an effort to wiping us out. This trooper here…" He then gestures to Pisces, "not only put a stop to the process, but slagged Shockwave and dozens of Decepticons in the process."

The two then look at Pisces, who is still in awe. "In all my life, I never would have dreamed of meeting the Autobot council."

Drivetrain chuckles darkly. "Trust me, my child, it is not the honor you think it is. Before the war, my fellow councilors were corrupt and would do anything to retain their power. When the war happened, the council was reduced to choosing the Primes to lead our people through those dark days while we sat back and watched. When the time came to leave, I… persuaded my fellow councilmen to travel with me to help make a new home, and never make the mistakes made before. Now…" He gestures to the other stasis pods, some empty and some are full but with cybertronians missing body parts, "I am the only one left. The rest either died defending this ship or are kept in stasis while methods to help them are being made." He pauses and stares Pisces in the optics. "Do you know how I, a mere Constructicon came to make the choices that would shake the foundation of our society forever? I learned how to read people's intentions just by looking at them, I learned how to pull my weight whenever I could, and I built trust. Do you know what I see in you? I see a young bot who bears a great burden and is searching for something. Tell me, what is it you seek?"

Pisces looks down at the metal floors, ponders whether to admit the truth to others, then he makes his statement. "All my life, all I've known is destruction and death. Aside from my mentor and Prowl, I've never trusted or been close with any of the other Autobots since I knew they were going to die soon. Then one day, I came across an organic entity on a strange world. His name was Sander Blanco. I saw myself in him, a troubled soul who understood the costs of their actions and kept to themselves. But eventually, I came to be something I'd never have thought possible, a guardian, a protector. For placing his undying trust in me, I will fight to make sure that his story comes to a satisfying end. I may not be able to come out the other side, but if I can help save his life in any way, then you bet I will fucking do it. And I want the data left behind by the ones who were pulling apart your ship."

Kup and Drivetrain look at each other before the former councilmen turns around. "Spanner, get me the data left behind by the intruder."

"At once, councilmen." The AI replies curtly, and a disc ejects itself form one of the panels. Drivetrain pulls it out, and holds it out to Pisces. Nodding in gratitude, he takes the disc and starts data download. All of the information left behind transfers itself into his brain in an astrosecond, leaving him slightly winded and deeply alarmed. If half the things he is scanning on that disc are true, then things are about to go from bad to completely fucked real soon.

"I wish you luck on your mission." Drivetrain states, walking over and patting Pisces on the shoulder. "And I have something else for you." He then rips a necklace containing a golden sphere with handles on each side and swirling blue energon in the center and hands it to Pisces. "It is said that if ever you find yourself in trouble, just grip this and ask Primus for help in your darkest hour, and he will do so. For countless generations, this has been passed down through the High Council. Many Primes have tried yet failed to invoke its power, and yet, I feel that it belongs to you." He then gives the key to Pisces who stares at it in awe. He then reattaches the necklace behind his neck and looks at it again.

"You honor me greatly. I will not fail, sir." Pisces nods one last time.

"Captain, if you'd be so kind as to lead our comrade to a fighter ship so as to leave the planet?"

"Yes, sir. Come along." The duo then make their way through the crowds of cheering Autobots, finally finding rest from the relentless war with the Decepticons. Eventually, they reach the docking bay where a small, by cybertronian standards, fighter ship. "Well, this is your way off the planet. It's not much, but Spanner insisted having a manually-controlled plane in the event of Aerialbots being unable to transform."

"Thank you, Kup. I wish you good fortune in the days forward." Max states, shaking Kup's hand.

The older Autobot smiles brightly, looking truly sad. "You've changed so much from the orphan refugee from Crystal City. May Primus be with you, Pisces Maximus."

Pisces lifts up the hatch and settles himself. But before he pulls the windshield down, he looks at his mentor. "Before I go, there is something I do need to know. Max Peterson. That is the name I have taken up in my years of protecting my friend." He then pulls the windshield down and after some trial and error, the blade starts spinning behind the ship and though they protested loudly, the hanger is open for him to soar out and directly into outer space.

And back to his friend, Santiago Blanco, to help him survive in these dark times.

* * *

 _AN:_ Hello, everyone! I am back in America! I'm sorry I was gone for so long, but I can give assurance that I will truly do my best to update this story as much as time can allow me because believe it or not, summer can get quite busy.

Just so everything is clear, yes, I am somewhat of a Transformers fan, and despite this universe being a ragtag crossover of multiple Transformers eras and series, it is mainly an alternate universe of the War for/Fall of Cybertron games (and yes, even the Dark Spark since that is part of them. Say what you will, I had fun with it despite being too multi-player focused for my liking.)

In summary, sorry for being late and I am a Transformers fan. Have fun with summer anyway, and I hope everyone had fun on July 4th!

*I know that Shrapnel is renamed to Sharpshot for the WFC (and this) universe, but I'm using Shrapnel from the Marvel comics' version as a separate entity. Think of them as long-separated brothers, pretty much.


	7. Culmination

**0715 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; Three Months after the Max's Investigation**

 **Corellia**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

"Nemesis One, this is Pisces, come in Nemesis One."

"What's your status, Pisces?"

"We are approaching the target. No one knows we're coming."

"Carry on with the formation. Wait for the signal, then carry out your mission. Nemesis One out." With a sigh, Sander cuts off the transmission. He then opens a new channel to the _Ghost_ crew who are assisting in the operation. "Kamino Squad, this is Nemesis One, what's your status?"

"This is Kamino Squad, we are in position."

Sander looks to his best friend, Yang Xiao Long, who nods. Sander nods back and speaks into the communication device. "Light it up."

Within seconds, a large explosion happens at a distant TIE fighter mass-production facility. Almost immediately, alarms start blaring and swarms of stormtroopers start marching through the metallic streets towards the station handling tanks filled with a fire suppressant fluid. "It's our time. Move out." He, Yang, Karel, Bora, and four of the most elite Atlas troopers start winding their way through the narrow alleyways as they make their way to the cone-shaped building where Incom Corporation has made its headquarters.

As they continue marching through the streets to the building, his mind flashes back to why things have happened the way they had…

If things were anything but quiet when the _Vytal_ first arrived in this galaxy, then the last three months have been absolute chaos. And ironically, it has little to do with former Imperial Senator Mon Mothma and her ability to form a fighting force with the sole purpose of combating the Empire; it is called the Rebel Alliance.

Most of the time spent was for missions to merely keep Phoenix Cell afloat, raiding Imperial supply lines, blowing up stations or just being a nuisance. Not to mention a new Imperial asshole decided to show his face by the name of Thrawn, and what sucks about him is that for all the incompetence his fellow officers have, he sticks out in terms of brilliance and determination to understanding his enemies to wipe them out. In a strange way, Sander respects the blue-skinned grand admiral. In fact, the _Vytal_ came so close to being the weak link that revealed the location of the new rebel base that much fuel had to be expended just to take the longer route to avoid Imperial patrols. Despite the formation of the newly-founded Chopper Base, things didn't get easier when Kanan ended up losing his eyes to a former apprentice of the Emperor by the name of Maul, not to mention Ezra's started to go completely apeshit; the scariest part about it was that Sander felt amusement at the madness and didn't do a damn thing about it. It was in that moment that he made his choice.

Thus, while Ezra and the _Ghost_ crew are off to collect codes for another mission involving Lothal, Sander took a mission from Commander Sado that is even more dangerous. For years, the Incom Corporation has been in service for developing both civilian and military ships for decades now and was a proud supporter of the Republic during the Clone Wars, though the Galactic Empire went to its competitors for distribution of military ships. The company hadn't taken this well, so they had been developing a new breed of starfighter to help bring down the Empire, and were willing to provide the plans to make more for the entire rebel fleet. The only problem is that the company is already under suspicion for treason and they reported something is wrong, but they will only cooperate after the main employees have been evacuated.

The group storm into the building, and as soon as they are in the lobby, a half-dozen stormtroopers are present and raise their blasters. Sander charges forward and pulls out Star Blaster and activates the lightsaber mode, slicing down one trooper before spinning his weapon-wielding arm behind him to cut the other troop in half. He then ducks and Yang launches herself using Ember Celica's momentum and holds her arms out to strike down the other troopers, knocking them out cold.

"Alright, we're splitting up. Yang, troopers, with me. Karel, Bora, you guys know stealth better than we ever will. You get the troops out of here." They simply nod and go towards the elevators leading them to the rendezvous point. The small group then stand in a circle and look all around them.

Silence reigns as stormtroopers are completely absent, aside from the sounds of a battle. Captain Rex has more than proven himself a trustworthy ally, and to make things even more entertaining, several other clones had been found on their numerous missions to compose Kamino Squad. Namely, a stray clone from the days of the first Battle of Geonosis, Able, and the Bad Batch, who had been in hiding from the Empire just like the Jedi. Though they aren't exactly young, they can still wipe the floor with the inexperienced soldiers of the Empire.

Just then, the Force rings in Sander's mind. "Get down!" He shouts, and everyone ducks as a something flies over their heads and explodes, sending them all flying out of the building.

"You're pretty good." They all look up to see two more stormtroopers, though these men hold themselves in a much more confident manner. One of them has one knee down and a rocket launcher in hand, which is already reloaded and pointing at their faces. The other is one who wears regular stormtrooper armor but it's painted with navy blue stripes all over, holding up a blaster pistol while also pointing it to them. "But not good enough."

Sander charges forward while Yang's shouting, "Wait!" But it's too late; the trooper lifts up a rod and it activates an energy shield, which reflects the lightsaber. Sander drops the blade and tries to use his other hand to do a lower cut, but the trooper leaps over and kicks Sander aside with his foot.

The former Jedi chuckles while pushing himself to his feet. "It seems I've underestimated you."

"You've done that, Jedi. Now!" Just then, four more green-armored stormtroopers deactivate their camouflage and two of them fire shackles of sorts, grasping on Sander's wrists then another hook attached to the shackle via chain anchors itself to the ground, and the chain starts conducting a steady stream of blue electricity. The last two troops surround Yang and the troops, wielding bazookas of a sort.

Yang looks at all of them before growling. "Hey, blondie. What do you say I let you off the hook and we can have some fun tonight? Don't worry, I don't bite." One of the troopers speaks up in a taunting manner.

By that point, Yang closes her eyes and when they're open again, they are a blood red. "You bastard!" She then charges forward and despite the bazooka's attempt to raze her down, she slides underneath.

The trooper notices and tries to swing the bazooka horizontally like a club, but Yang catches the weapon and punches him right in the face. "Watch it, Griff!" One of the Atlas soldiers shouts to another.

"You watch it!" He shouts back, but both manage to duck under the flying troop and use the weakness to tackle the last troop who manages to shoot down one of the elite troops in the gut. While Sander struggles against the chains keeping him down, he decides to use the Force to knock the last two troops in front of them, knocking them against the closest wall and hoping that the force of the impact would snap their necks.

Just then, Karel runs back down the staircase, holding his blue lightsaber in hand. "We did it. The refugees are in the only shuttle out of here. I came to help." He then looks around at the groaning mass of stormtroopers and the chained Sander.

"Yeah, good timing there. Can you…" He is interrupted by the sound of transports making their way to Incom. "Fuck this."

Yang then gets into a fighting position and smirks slightly. "Say, Sander? Do you remember our old team attack, Fire Dragon?"

Sander blanches considerably, then leans forward and sighs in resignation. "Fine. If it means busting me out of here."

"You got it!" Yang flashes him a thumbs-up, then charges toward him and punches him right in the chest. Both of their Auras flare up, and Sander starts rocketing into the air, breaking through the chains and smashing through the metal roof encasing the lobby. Everybody stares up at the human-shaped hole in the ceiling with complete confusion.

"What…" Karel then looks to Yang. "That was Fire Dragon?"

"Yup!" Yang exclaims in a chippy manner. "You know, it was made by complete accident." A whole squad of stormtroopers storm the lobby.

"Freeze! Don't move!"

"Oh yeah? We don't need to!" Yang challenges back in a confident manner, placing a hand on her hip.

"Why's that?"

"You'll see in five, four, three, two, one…" Yang then imitates looking at a watch, then everyone starts hearing someone yelling at the top of his lungs and Yang looks up to see Sander falling back to the ground, his entire body ablaze with deep crimson flames. She then leaps into the air and grabs Sander's hands before throwing him with all her might at the stormtroopers. The blast of an attack incinerates the stormtroopers who just arrived and he kicks the transport's front so hard that it erupts into a brilliant ball of fire. "Come on! We need to get out of here!" She then runs to the wounded Atlas trooper and hoists his arm onto her shoulders before leading him out of the building, followed closely by the rest of the troops and Karel keeping a close eye out. "Sander!"

"Ow…" A load moan of protest comes from the burning wreck.

"Sander! We're leaving." Yang shouts as they make their way through the smoke-filled city as the clones' distraction is finishing up. He sits up from the wreck, wiping the soot out of his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He shakily stands up and starts running after them. From out of the sky, an Atlas transport immediately lowers itself right in front of them and the hatch opens up. "Wiz, get us out of here!"

"You got it!" Wiz then shuts the back and the transport flies into the air. As they steadily approach the ship with two hijacked Imperial shuttles, the _Vytal_ deactivates its new cloaking device so as to allow the transports back onto the ship. Within moments, the _Vytal_ soars back into space and enters Beamspace right as the Imperial stormtroopers start swarming the streets to re-pacify the panicking masses.

Sander makes his way to the bridge, where the chairman of Incom, Davin Alder. "I thank you, Captain Blanco, for rescuing my people from the Empire's inevitable persecution. The Imperial Senate's new tariffs were going to run us out of business."

Sander simply nods. "Can you give us the coordinates?"

Alder bows in consent. "Of course, sir. We will be going to Jelucan, where the X-wings we've been developing are located. However, there has been a…problem."

Sander stares at the chairmen. While the rebellion had heard about this problem, there have been little to no details about it. "And what is this problem?"

The chairman actually starts to look abashed about something. "Well, it's about the shipyards that we've been using to build the X-wings. They've been completely shut down by a third party, and I'm afraid that a failsafe had been built into the factory when it was first built up. Whenever power is completely shut off to one of our factories, it can't be restarted unless a completely new generator is installed."

Everyone stares at the chairman, trying to keep their jaws in place. "What kind of bullshit is this?" Sander demands.

"It's true. We'd figured that one day, the Empire would manage to confiscate our factories and use them to build their straw-heaps they fall fighters, they would be useless to the Empire."

Sander growls and grips his fists. This sounds so absurd, like an outside entity is deliberately making up whatever comes to mind as an obstacle out of spite. "Okay. Officer Adams, call in Phoenix Leader and tell him that we've succeeded and the coordinates for Jelucan to send pilots."

"Right away, sir." Adams complies and sends the coded message out into open space, hoping that it isn't picked up by any outside forces.

"Alright. Commander Peterson, I'm going down planetside to the factory to make sure it's safe for extraction. You will accompany me alongside Lieutenant Ringmaster and Sergeant Boomstick. Everyone else, make sure that we have a way to escape this wasteland."

Max and everyone else simply nod in compliance. For all of his stupid remarks and questionable sexuality, Ringmaster, whose real name is unknown, has proven himself someone who can be respected by those who serve under him and those who don't. Yet somehow, he and Boomstick managed to get through Atlas Academy just fine. How is a mystery for another time.

After an hour, the lead attack force along with rebel pilots supplied by Sado are planetside and making their way through the rocky fields toward what seems to be an enormous gray compound that is a single level but spreads out for hundreds of feet in either direction and imbedded in the side of a nearby mountain.

"Stand back." Karel states, and everyone steps back and starts slicing a hole into the facilities' shut doors. At the last second, he and Bora decided to tag along; why they did so is a mystery.

"Oh~. That's a beautiful rod you've got there. You mind sharing that with me next?" Ringmaster asks with a large grin, only for Boomstick to slap the back of his head.

"Hey! I get the lightsaber next. Those damn squirrels won't be chittering at my door from now on."

"We're in." Sander cuts in once the circular piece of metal slides into the facility. One by one, they step through the hole and into the facility. It is an even larger facility than the outside led them all to believe, with all of them standing on a rusting metal platform suspended over a large room filled with building utensils, pieces of scrap intended to serve as covers for the fighters, and right in the middle, held in place by thick locks of a strange kind, are a dozen fighter ships that remind Sander of the fighters utilized by clone pilots during the Clone Wars.

"Max, take a squad of troops down to the generator level and try to figure out what caused the malfunction to begin with. Everyone else, on me and keep tight."

"I like being tight." Ringmaster mutters, but Sander groans at his stupidity. How he wished to strangle that man. As Max leads some Atlas troops to the right to find some way to navigate the dark facility, everyone else activates the flashlights built into their helmets and start making their way along the same platform straight ahead. They continue their long and silent trek through the facility until coming to a set of stairs leading down to the X-wings themselves.

Sander looks all around him. Something was completely wrong, and the Force in the air was inhibiting his senses, leaving him confused and hard to focus on his thoughts. "Pilots! Get into those fighters and get them out of here."

"But we don't know how to operate these ships." One pilot protest. "These are completely different from the A-wings we're used to."

"Well, then figure it out. We'll buy you as much time as needed. Allusis, come, let's find a way to open this fucking door." With that, they make their way to the front of the base and search for something, anything to open the doors.

"Sander?" Karel asks as they continue searching for their objective.

"What's up?"

"What's happening to you? Really."

"Oh, not much. Just dealing with a bunch of ridiculous crap and the Force making me have a hard time thinking right now?" He then notices Karel looks surprised. It was subtle, but it was there. "What, you don't have that?" In that moment, Karel's hand brushes up against a panel that sticks out from the wall.

"I think we found what we're looking for." Slowly yet carefully, his hands run over the smooth surface before coming across a panel on the side then pulling it open. He then pulls the lever.

As the doors slowly start pulling away from each other, the communication device in Sander's ear starts buzzing, to which Sander gently taps it. Instantly, he flinches as static starts crackling in his ear, but he can hear Max saying certain words to him. "Found…generator…shreds…trap…get…"

"Repeat, Pisces, what was that?" Sander demands into the comm, but it's too late. As the X-wings start pulling away from the locks that held them in place, something large and immensely heavy falls from the ceiling and crushes one of the X-wings. A large cloud of dust rockets towards the Force-users, but they use the Force to keep the dust at bay. After the dust settles, an enormous mass of metal rises up slowly. Both powerhouses stare in shock and slight horror as it reveals itself to be an avion-type creature with slick wings made of a thin metal, a bulky body with slim yet long legs, a long neck, and a long beak to balance out the body. A sleek silver surface where the eyes would be glare at them as it charges forward on its legs. Apparently, jets were built into this monstrosity's wings to accompany the wings on its feet, making it charge toward them at abnormal speeds.

The duo jumps in opposite directions to avoid getting crushed by the oncoming monstrosity. It flies out of the hangar and into the air. Despite how heavy the machine looks, it manages to maintain its position in the air and glares at them with its glassy grey optics.

"What in Oum's name is that thing?" Sander demands, taking out his lightsaber and activates it alongside Karel.

As the metal monstrosity hovers in the air, a large pod opens up on its back and out flies a large rocket. Karel uses the Force to try and slow it down while Sander leaps through the air using his huntsman training to leap to the rocket and uses the lightsaber to stab the point where the guidance chip should be. It instantly explodes, but Sander survives the explosion and lands back-first into the mountain-side.

Max makes his way out of the complex and sees the situation the others are in. "Oh crap." He then sprints to the duo. "Guys, we've got a major problem. Those are the ones who attacked us at Onderon."

A cold expression remains on Sander's face. "I see. Where are the others?"

"Yeah, about that, more of those same hacks are attacking out troops. The X-wings are having a tough time busting out."

"Fuck." Sander spats, but his attention returns to the dinosaur-like mech as machine guns unfold from its wings and starts tearing up the metal hangar. Karel tries to reflect the bullets back at the mech, but without much success. "Okay. You know more about these things, what are we dealing with exactly?"

"This is the newest breed of super-weapon based on mechanoloids that's been in production since the Clone Wars and similar in basic structure to a weapon called Thanatos Infinity. This particular one is Thanatos Rodan. Its armor is less thick than its companions but is still thick enough to where laser-based weapons would have to be concentrated for at least 10 minutes."

"Well, that's lovely." Sander and Max then dodge to the side as the other machine gun points to them and huts them, though Max steps in front of Sander and takes the brunt of the attack, making his Aura flare up violently and nearly get destroyed. "Any weaknesses?"

"Yes, the joints for the wings. There can't be much armor there in order to maximize mobility."

Sander then looks at Karel as he desperately tries to use the Force to send a piece of X-wing armor to pin down T-Rodan, but it swerves to the side to avoid the attack. "Wait. Why the hell isn't that thing coming at us?"

"Because it wants me." The three turn around to see a new human none of them have seen before. He has neck-length grey hair that is turning white held up by a black headband made from ripped cloth, wrinkled and greying skin, an eyepatch over one eye, and body armor worn by Gaian Empire Army soldiers.

"Who are you?" Sander asks the man, staring at him in confusion. How could he not sense him sneak up on them? Gods, he needs to get a move on if his plan is to work.

"My name is Severus. Severus Parody."

Sander snorts at that. "And I'm Floyd. Pink Floyd." Once his sarcasm passes, he notices that T-Rodan is no longer shooting at them, simply staring at the elderly man. In that moment, he chose to make the strike.

"Karel, Max, get Severus and the rest of our troops out of here. Those who are taking the X-wings are leaving now."

Karel nods, but Max looks concerned. "What about you?"

Sander sighs deeply. "I'm staying here for now to buy all of you time." He sees the conflict and protest in Max's eyes and everyone else could have said other words, but they fall on deaf ears. The ex-Jedi then pulls out his lightsaber and activates the white blade, having a strange feeling about this whole scenario.

T-Rodan takes immediate notice, and it charges at Sander while firing more blasts from the side machine guns. Sander jumps through the gaps of the bullets as he moves to the side, then leaping high as T-Rodan crashes through the runway component. The others take notice and run back into the hangar to help with the loud battle going on inside. Sander tries to stab T-Rodan with the lightsaber, and while it doesn't bounce off the metal, it certainly doesn't penetrate the armor.

He briefly notices the X-wings flying away from the station and into the atmosphere. Instead of joy, Sander frowns as he knows that those who live on today will only to suffer more in the days to come. That moment of distraction causes T-Rodan to slide him off the front and the ex-Jedi nearly falls off, and he would have if he didn't grab the tip of the beak and hang on for dear life.

The lightsaber falls out of his arm and starts falling to the ground hundreds of feet below, only for Sander to leap up and use the Force to pull the weapon back to his hand. T-Rodan starts shaking side to side and lifts into the air in pursuit of the X-wings, dozens of black-armored soldiers staring at the mech flying away.

Sander continues holding on as T-Rodan reaches one of the X-wings that is missing some of its armor and one of its thrusters. Then, two smaller arms retract from T-Rodan's underbelly and grab the X-wing on opposite ends, pulling it apart and making the rebel scream in terror as she falls to the ground and her death. The rogue huntsman continues crawling up T-Rodan's hide as it approaches another X-wing. Sander then activates Star Blaster and slashes the joint for its right wing.

If it could screech in protest, it would be doing so. It shakes even more violently than before, and it's so violent that Sander is unable to grip one of the layers of triangle-shaped silver plates that make up its hide, causing him to start falling to the ground.

He looks at the mountainous terrain and starts leaping form one mountain surface to the other to slow down his collision with the cliffside. By this point, he lands with both feet under him and sliding forward, only stopping right at the edge. He looks down at the soles of his armor's boots and sees steam pouring up from the bottom and completely smooth. A flap of wings catches his attention and T-Rodan charges toward him with all the missiles and machine guns, even the small arms on the under-belly extended. Sander throws his lightsaber up with all his might, and slices both arms off and lodging itself inside the mech before rolling towards the mountainside and hugging it to avoid the barrage of missiles and bullets. So only the outer coating is composed of Mandalorian steel. He takes a deep breath, lets his strange powers take control once again, then lunges forward and grabs the tail of T-Rodan. With newfound strength, he hikes up the mech and grabs the lightsaber lodged in the weak-point, slicing and dicing the inside.

It madly flails around and starts collapsing towards the hangar, with the troops desperately trying to get away from the site of impact. Sander instantly lets go and smashes against the concrete runway as T-Rodan crashes into the hangar, making it explode into a brilliant ball of fire. Shakily, and Aura broken, Sander stands up with Star Blaster in hand before turning to the site of destruction. After a long moment, Sander notices that T-Rodan also shakily starts lifting itself up out of the wreckage and turns its head towards the rogue huntsman.

The mech glares at him before the plates that would normally make up the face slide apart and reveal a single port hole where a single missile resides, no doubt its deadliest weapon. Sander stares at Star Blaster, a weapon that has done him well for so long, before getting it into a stance one would take up if throwing a javelin and thrusts it forward with what little energy and ability to control the Force he has left. As he hoped, the lightsaber impacts the super-missile port and the head explodes, sending a large piece of Mandalorian steel to impale him in the chest. Blood spurting from his mouth, he gets onto his knees and stares at T-Rodan's body as it starts collapsing on top of him. Sander closes his eyes and embraces the end.

" **Did you think it would be that easy?"** His eyes spring open in terror as T-Rodan completes its fall, leaving a smoldering wreck of where a battle took place.

* * *

"No. No. I refuse to believe it, gods damn it!" Yang then punches the metal desk in Sander's cabin, then collapses to her knees and bursts into tears. Max also gets onto his knees and hugs Yang tightly while a single tear rolls down from his left eye, while Karel and Bora stare at them.

Not five minutes after the shuttle returned to the _Vytal_ after a successful mission, Yang demanded where Sander was at, and to hear what he stayed behind to fight off the Gaian empire's newest weapon and an explosion of energy in the Force told all of users the same thing: something truly major had happened. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss." Bora states, her eyes cast down to the floor.

Yang and Max look up at them. "Thank you." Max speaks up, more emotional than he's been in a long time. The blonde, on the other hand, is still crying.

"I never got to helping him with his problems. I never got to admit to him that I loved him or tried to fix anything." She then stands up and looks around. "I'm going back down." She then pushes through Karel and Bora as she heads to the docking bay for the upteenth time.

"Hello, Ms. Xiao-Long. We're about to leave now before the Empire arrives. I'd recommend…" Dr. Grey is interrupted when Yang points a finger at the bubbly doctor.

"I'm going back down to get our captain back. If you try to stop me, I will not hesitate to beat you senseless." She then marches towards the nearest transport and makes her way to the nearest grey transport. But as Yang looks at the controls, she realizes that she can't fly this thing.

"Next time, Yang, don't run off without asking if we want to help." Max steps in with Karel and Bora right with him.

"Sander's a friend of mine. I will do what I can to help him out. Excuse me." He then gets himself seated in the pilots' chair. Apparently, Dr. Grey had green-lighted their departure as by the time the ship is warmed up and ready, the bay doors are open. Without waiting, they leave the ship and rocket towards the planet. All these trips are starting to take a toll on their transports, evident by the horizontal burn marks that are becoming increasingly difficult to clean.

Soon enough, they arrive at the sight of the battle with the destroyed T-Rodan and the transport sets down right next to the smoldering wreck. "Sander! Sander! Sander, where are you!" Yang starts screaming, pushing aside pieces of the Thanatos mech's armor in desperation while the others begin their own desperate searching before the Empire arrives to investigate what's going on.

The search, however, comes to an end when the mech's chest itself starts moving aside and settles on the concrete surface once again, and a figure wearing torn armor and the helmet being ripped off. "Sander…" Yang starts making her way to the figure before them before stopping. Something was horribly wrong. "Sander?"

" **Knowing is not strength we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must take action."** 'Sander' states, then turns around. His face is hideously pale, his hair snow-white, with the veins in his face taking on a deep purple, his pupils also being purple and his irises being pure gold. **"So, you're the woman who has enticed my son all these years. It is so nice to see you again."**

"Salem?" Yang asks, shaking so terribly that she almost falls to her knees. Max, Karel, and Bora simply stare with equal shock. "But… how?"

" **There is much in the universe that is beyond knowledge. But in the time I have existed, from the days of the bastard god brothers to the cultists who think I'm a goddess like other cults see the cruel ocean god with an octopus as a face as their own, I have learned that the universe gives us what it wishes, and our choices merely bring us to that goal. When the woman whose body I possessed gave her blood relative her memories, she never realized that she gave my soul to my son, and the chance to have a stronger body than I ever had."** Salem then caresses her new body. **"This body is satisfactory for what I wish to do. The five years it took me to break Sander's mental barriers and crush his desperate actions by making him question his own sanity have been worth it."**

"You…" Yang gets back and continues trembling, but with rage. "You fucking bitch!" She then charges forward and tries to punch Salem with her Force powers to speed up the punch to where she broke the sound barrier, but Salem merely holds the punch in her hands.

" **Fiery, the angels fell. Deep thunder rolled around their shoulders, burning with the fires of a hawk."** She then punches Yang, who smashes inside the transport and she collapses to the floor, out cold.

Karel gets out his lightsaber, activates it, and lunges forward, slashing at her at full speed. Salem merely presses her right hand against his sword arm and gently moves herself out of the way to avoid each slash, then holds her left arm out and stabs it into his solar plexus. She then punches the stunned Karel in the face, sending him into Bora.

Max finds a chuck of rock then kicks it at her. Salem dodges, but Max slides under the rock and tries to slahs her, but she simply grabs his neck. **"Impressive!"** She shouts then squeezes as hard, but lets go to dodge Bora's blaster shots. Karel grabs Max and drags him towards the transport.

"No! We can do it!"

"We can't. She's too strong." Karel admits, holding his head down as Bora covers their retreat by firing more blaster shots, to which Salem summons hordes of Grimm to serve as a barrier to protect from the raw plasma.

Soon, everyone is onboard and Bora hits the button to close the hatch, before Karel gets to the pilots' seat and takes off. Max stares down at the ground and Salem who is staring up at them with a slight smirk on her face.

So many questions swirl around in his mind, but only one matters. If he or another trained Jedi couldn't even slow Salem down, who can fight her and win?

* * *

 _AN:_ The plot thickens! Mwahahaha!

Since I took the whole month of June out, I thought I'd get the next chapter out ASAP. I'm sorry if it seemed like this chapter and aspect of the story seem rushed, but due to college looming on the horizon, I do have to do some crunching wherever I can.

Regardless, that was fun to write, the story is just about to get real intense, and I will see ya'll when things get even more tense.

In the words of an annoying, green-loving maniacal AI, "Toodles!" Oh God, that sucked.


	8. Galactic Trip

**1015 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; Three Hours after the Turning**

 **Space**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

To say things are tense on the _Vytal_ wouldn't really be doing it justice.

The officers are confused about the situation and it's affecting their performance, Max is trying to take charge of the ship only to meet opposition from Adams the communication officer with half of the troops backing him, the other half backing Max out of respect, Wizard, Boomstick, and Ringmaster can't stop bickering for a second, Yang hasn't said a word since they've returned to the ship, and everyone else is just sitting on the sidelines to see who stands once the dust settles.

"Adams, I am the Commander here. Every book on military command would tell you that I am in charge of this ship now."

"Shove it up your ass!" Adams shouts back, pushing his cherry red hair out of his grey eyes in rage with his lion-like tail twitching in rage. "You may have the rank, but are unfit to give us orders or provide help in our greatest need. Our Captain made his mistakes, but was at least there when we needed him and never stood aside when we were in a tough spot. You, on the other hand, stay behind and watch while we suffer or worse, run off from our pack whenever you feel like it. Don't think I've forgotten about the time you abandoned us to check out that transmission on Malastare."

Max flinches slightly at that, knowing that for all of Adams's rage, he did raise a good point. "I am not perfect, none of us here are. But it doesn't matter whether we are present for others at all times, it's about being there when it counts, doing what can be done, and knowing when to realize that some things are out of our control. And right now, I'm looking to do what I can to get our Captain back and stop an old empire before it wipes us all out." When the quartet got back, they simply told the crew that Sander had been captured by the Gaian Empire. Like any of them would say that he was possessed by a millennia-old witch with wet dreams of burning the world to ashes.

By this point, Adams is shaking in rage. "You are a disgrace to your rank, trying to weasel your way out of this. It seems there is only one way to settle this conflict; we fight to the death."

Max blinks in surprise. "I don't think such action is necessary, officer."

"Well, it is!" He snaps, his face contorted in pure rage. "I refuse to stand by while you could make the same move again and get us all killed, or worse. And since you won't relinquish your control, I'll have to resort to…" Before he can finish his rant, he is punched from behind and rapidly impacts the ground. The action is so swift and merciless that Adams is instantly knocked out cold. Yang is standing over him, breathing hard and having puffy red eyes.

"I was wondering if he'd shut up on his own." She states plainly, relaxing from her battle stance.

Some of the officers raise some new blaster pistols at Max and Yang, while others point to them. "Enough!" Both sides look to Max as he stares at each and every of them with frustration. "Every second we spend fighting amongst each other is time given for those who seek to destroy us to find their magic bullet. You may not like me much, or know me that well. But, our families want nothing more than to see all of you again, families we've all left behind to be here today. I don't ask anyone to follow me, so if anyone wishes to reject my claim to command, now's the time. I won't blame you since this is a strange time, but I promise each and every one of you that I will do what I can to get you back home to those you love. Raise your hands if you don't want me standing here right now."

No one raises their hands; in fact, everyone starts lowering their pistols and looking at each other in shame. Max lets out a silent sigh of relief, as this simplifies everything considerably. "Thank you for placing your trust in me. Right now, our first act is to travel to one of the nearby planets and restock on supplies. Food, medicine, anything that we're low on. From there, we'll begin tracking bounties, bounty hunters, anything that might lead us to the Empire."

"Follow the paper trail." One officer mutters.

"Any questions?" None of the officers raise their hands, just stare at their new captain. "Please. If you're confused with anything, don't keep it in." He then leans on the railings that overlook the bridge and watch as everyone continues working. "Now, which system are we in?"

The navigation officer quickly clacks on his computer. "Between the Alderaan system and Corellia, or the Core Worlds region."

"Alright. So, what's nearest to us?"

"Scanning… Many planets, but the one that I recognize is called Coruscant, now renamed to Imperial Center. That's the heart of the Empire, if I'm not mistaken. I'd recommend that we best stay from…"

"Set course for this Imperial Center." Max leans forward and looks at the still-incomplete map of the galaxy. Despite months of searching, a complete databank of imperial bases isn't exactly like walking into a pharmacy and buying a pack of Peptol-Bismol.

The officer stares at him incredulously. "Sir? Isn't that the opposite of what we want to do? We're supposed to be avoiding those clunky idiots, not going to their home territory."

"Exactly. It is for that reason they would not expect us to go there."

He simply nods, seeing the logic in that assessment, but not liking the choice regardless. "Right away, sir." Within moments, the ship is primed and ready to re-enter Beamspace.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe I can get myself some more of that Nerf steak. You don't fucking mess around with that shit." Sergeant Boomstick states with a wide grin as the ship jumps through the blue portal to the other side, where the massive metal planet is directly ahead of them.

Many people in the group, Yang included, gasp in surprise at seeing the planet in person. "Fascinating. A city encompasses the entire planet." Wizard states while adjusting his goggles to make sure he misses nothing. Max, on the other hand, clenches his fists tightly. This planet reminds him too much of the stories of Cybertron in the days before the civil war started.

Regardless, the _Vytal_ soars through space and past hundreds of other ships that are entering or leaving Imperial Center. "Shouldn't we worried about being recognized?" Bora points out with concern in her voice.

In that moment, two fighter-sized ships and arrive on each side of the _Vytal_. "Unknown ship, unknown ship, this is Lieutenant Briggs. We are to escort you to a special docking bay, where an inspection team will conduct their duties."

"Yes, hello. This is the _Crimson Dawn_ here, can you please tell us why we're to be inspected? Over." That is the codename for the _Vytal_ whenever they make their way to a new planet simply to avoid suspicion.

"It's because your ship bears resemblance to a notorious rebel ship known only as the _Vytal_. If you fail to comply, we will space dust out of you before you can say deathstick."

"Lead on, Lieutenant. Over and out." The transmission cuts off, and silence fills the bridge.

"Good thinking, Roberts." Max states, then makes his way to a microphone attached to the wall and activates the ship-wide speakers. "Attention, attention. We are setting down on Coruscant, and an inspection crew's about to come aboard. Captain Rex, take Kamino Squad and show these guests our most sincere hospitality. Everyone else, be ready since things here could get ugly. Captain Peterson, over and out." He then cuts the transmission and lets out a sigh. "That goes for everyone here as well. Just act natural but be ready, and we'll make it."

"I got you the first time." One of the officers mutters while working.

Several tense minutes pass as the _Vytal_ descends to Imperial Center and are escorted to the landing pad where all three ships touch down on a pad close to a large and cone-shaped facility that looks suspiciously like a military complex. " _Crimson Dawn_ , the boarding party is ready to receive you. Please standby."

"I'm going down to help." Karel states while being closely followed by Bora, then makes a quick decision and sprints to the docking bay and a side entrance meant for people only. Everyone on the bridge sits there, ready for a major battle to take place.

After a long moment, the transmission cuts back in. " _Crimson Dawn_ … you are cleared of all suspicion. Please have a pleasant trip at Imperial Center." Max and Yang let out a large sigh of relief.

"Alright. Dr. Grey, compile a list of everything that the ship is low on and send out the officers to go pick them up. I will be accompanying Yang, Karel, and Bora on a mission to find a lead to our next destination." Indeed, Max's gut tells him that the key to finding the Empire is here on this planet.

"Lead the way." Yang states, stepping aside so Max can walk by, and they make their way towards the docking bay.

"Yang. I know that it's hard since Sander's…disappeared." Max starts but Yang hums.

"You've become a lot more talkative since taking responsibility, Max. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're stressed." Her face then falls slightly. "Though I can't say I'm much better. No matter what that bitch is doing to him now, I have faith that somewhere, he is still alive. If I have even a slight chance to get him back, I will take it. I owe him that much." They then complete their trek in silence once they reach the familiar grey docking bay. Right next to the slim grey transport with Atlas androids loaded and ready for deployment, Captain Rex and his five members that make up Kamino Squad. One of them is the bearded Able, and the others are the four-man squad that made up the Bad Batch. Due to malfunctions in their cloning process, their aging process is much slower than normal clones and more on the lines of the natural aging process. They had been out infiltrating a Separatist hideout on Jelucan when the Galactic Empire had taken control, and due to their secrecy, no one noticed when they dropped off the map and lived on the run, at least until they were found on a mission to Geonosis and recruited by Rex when he saw that the Atlas troops were starting to have too thin of numbers.

Max and Yang reunite with Karel and Bora, and promptly set off for the outside world.

If it hadn't been for Karel's outings to the city when he was last here, the others would have been lost beyond recognition. Their first stop was the local bar to pick up some drinks and learn what they could. Well, they didn't learn anything and had to beat it promptly before Yang got violent over a sleezy-looking human man trying to sell drugs to her. Then they went and got themselves a nice meal at a small café called Dex's Diner. Dex himself was a friendly Besalisk, but slightly calloused over the years of serving customers under the Empire's rule. While Yang and Max are intrigued with the grain beer-like ardees, but every meal they have in this strange galaxy makes them more and more homesick for Remnant. Again, they try asking the owner for any clues about the Gaian Empire, but he wouldn't have any of it.

"What a bust!" Yang shouts, nearly punching something in frustration. It took every ounce of restraint to not give that dealer a concussion as he also had the audacity to stroke her long hair.

All four then look up at one of the holographic screens floating above them showing Imperial news. "Today, our esteemed Emperor has approved the new law which allows all Imperial-borns to censor the works of hologram-makers deemed racist, and will be reworked to fit with our way of life, the way of life that will endure for years to come!"

Max then notices another bar, which would normally not interest him, but what caught his attention is that he notices several holograms of people he has seen before, those who have a bounty on their heads. "Come on. Third time's the charm."

After some muttered agreements, they stroll inside the parlor and are overwhelmed, in a different way. The inside is teeming with rather shady-looking aliens and humans wearing all sorts of armor. It couldn't have been a worse spot to put a bounty hunters den, but it would do the job. All of the hunters briefly look at the quartet, but then go back to whatever they were doing.

The group make their way through the narrow building before getting himself seated at an empty table. Bora and Karel subtly look around to see any suspicous while Max and Yang are busily looking through the list of bounties that might be worth getting into for a quick credit. However, all of the big shots were already handed in by another big-shot by the name of Boba Fett, and the small fry here are either rebel leaders or criminals that don't have any worthwhile bounties.

Just as they were about to give up hope, Karel notices a face in the crowd. The face of an old friend, turned enemy. Agent Illinois is sitting alone in the corner, wearing ragged mark I clone armor and looking at a particular bounty. He taps the screen, accepting the bounty, and walks out. "Follow that man." Karel whispers to the others, who take notice of the one leaving, and follow his lead.

Somehow, despite being 20 feet away from their target, Daniel doesn't notice them. He then walks into a side-alley and leaps onto the nearest building. Then, using some sort of sticking technology, he latches onto the wall, and leaps from one building to the next before landing on the roof of the building on the right. "What the hell?" Yang asks. She then starts leaping into that building while punching her own crevices into the wall and using the dents as fingerholes to climb up. Max stabs into the wall with his twin swords and follows suite while Karel and Bora rocket to the top using Bora's jetpack. While it wasn't exactly the most silent method of transport, the noise of the city around them did obscure their trek up.

Once they reach the top, they instantly notice Illinois leaping through the buildings and even onto passing speeders who barely seem to notice them, on their way to the Imperial military complex right near where the _Vytal_ is located. As they continue following him, drawing some very obscene curses from aliens on speeders which were used as moving platforms. Then, after ten minutes of hot pursuit, Illinois stops. The quartet stop at the building that is a story higher than the one Illinois is positioned. He is facing the compound as an Imperial shuttle lands on one of the open pad to unload an Imperial admiral with slicked grey hair, blue eyes, and hardened features*. Illinois rustles through his armor and pulls out a long sniper rifle.

In that moment, Karel leaps from the building they are currently on and dashes forward. "Stop him!" Bora shouts, charging towards him followed by Yang and Max who are perturbed by the incident. But they are too late; Illinois promptly pulls the trigger of the blaster shot from over a hundred feet away and behind a concrete wall. The shot hits the Admiral dead in the brain, making his head explode. As the stormtroopers are scrambling in all directions in an effort to figure out what happened, Karel punches Illinois dead in the face.

"Hello, traitor." Illinois says in an emotionless tone. "I knew you'd be too slow to stop me from doing what I want. As you always have been. It seems your friends aren't much better."

By instinct, Karel tries to punch again, but Illinois dodges to the side and pulls out a knife also hidden in the armor, slashing Karel in the leg and drawing some blood. Bora fires at him, but Illinois dodges to the side and grabs his sniper rifle, ripping off the barrel end and pulling out his curved Sith blade, and activating the red blade. He then reflects one blaster shot back and hits Yang dead on.

However, she absorbs the blast using her semblance and uses her newfound strength to tackle the agent and beat him down, punch after punch. Face going left and right, she was starting to draw blood, but Max pulls her off. "Stop it! We need him alive to find out what he's up to."

He then hears Illinois laughing maniacally. "Do you really think I'd do that? Betray the one, true Emperor?" He then lunges to his feet and tries to use his new lightsaber to slash Max down, but he grips the lightsaber, with the skin of his arm turning grey under the red armor, and crushes the kyber crystal and lightsaber at the same time. "What the fuck?" Max then headbutts Illinois, making him collapse to the ground again.

"I never said you'd do it willingly. I know what kind of person you are, you'd do anything to save your own life." Max leers down at the fallen Maven while Karel activates his lightsaber and points it at his former comrade's throat.

"Tell us what you know, or you will die here and now." To all of their surprise, Illinois starts laughing maniacally.

"Do you really think I care about my life at all? I've been dead for over a decade, my body just hasn't caught up with that reality yet. But when my glorious leader claims his rightful place as ruler of this miserable galaxy, he will remember those who helped him get there. My play in his game is over at long last. Farewell, friend…" He spat the last word out in disgust.

Before anyone could react, a loud crack fills the air and impacts Illinois's face. It starts swelling slowly while crushing his eyes, then he explodes, peppering them all in blood. Max looks to the source of the shot, but whoever did it had already left.

Karel continues staring at the spot where the figure was, while Bora checks out the body, Yang wipes the blood off her clothes, and Max examines their surroundings. "Hey, guys." Max states in a quieter pitch, catching their attention. "We're about to have company soon. If you're looking for anything, now's the time to find it."

In that moment, Bora pulls out what seems to be a set of keys. "We can find an automatic log or something on his ship, and trace it back to his empire." She states, then pockets it in a pouch around her waist.

By that time, the stormtroopers spot the quartet. "There! Raise the alarm, we've got bounty hunters on our hands!"

"Time to go." Yang shouts then starts running in the opposite direction as alarms start blaring all around them. The others follow close behind as multiple blaster shots are fired in an effort to hit them.

Realizing that they really have no other choice, the group jumps off the edge of the building and try to grip the wall to mitigate the long fall down. Bora simply uses the last bit of jetpack fuel to fall while holding Karel and Max, due to his heavy endurance, lands on his feet and gets back up like it's nothing. Yang, on the other hand, tries to jump down last, but is hit by a passing speeder before dropping and landing on her back.

"Come on!" Max shouts while pulling a moaning Yang back onto her feet; while unharmed, she still felt the impact loud and clear. As they sprint down the street and avoiding the onslaught of stormtroopers, Max's communication device starts beeping, and he promptly activates it.

"Captain! We've completely restocked on supplies using our bounty money, and are ready to go." In that moment, he knows what to do and the only way to achieve it.

"We're cut off from you! Take the long way, but return to base while you still can! Give Ringmaster command of our forces until we come back, okay?"

A moment of silence ensues before Roberts picks up. "Acknowledged. Good luck, Captain." With that, the transmission turns to static.

"Now we can focus on finding Illinois's ship." Karel states before turning into a side-alley and hiding behind a dumpster so the stormtroopers can march past. After a minute, Max pokes his head out and looks in both directions and finding none of the stormtroopers coming their way.

"Coast is clear." They then leave the alleyway and travel in the opposite direction through narrow sidewalks and even smaller bridges. As they are about halfway back to the docking bay, a loud scream echoes, magnified by the enormous buildings that surround them, and they turn to the source only to see a smoldering wreck where a speeder had blown up. Stepping out of the wreckage, wearing the black armor of a Death Trooper without a helmet, is Salem, with golden eyes glowing wickedly and sneering as she spots them.

"Go on! We'll hold her back." Karel shouts to Max and Yang, who hesitate and stare at the body of the man they once knew looking gaunter than ever. "Go!" Their moment of pain and weakness ends and they continue their journey. Explosions and more screams of terror break out as the duel commences while Max and Yang arrive at the checkpoint.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The human woman dressed in a green Imperial uniform asks, looking at them with pure disinterest.

"Can you please tell us which docking bay holds the ship this goes to?" Max asks, hoping to play the woman's disinterest to his favor.

She looks over the oval-shaped black screen with a silver-colored metal lining the bottom with mild interest before nodding. "This is the keys for the _Vengeful Spirit_ , which is on Docking Bay 94-H. But you'll have to wait, as there is a blockade in place. A respected admiral got assassinated today, and I'm stuck here fingering my pu…"

By this point, Max punches the officer with such force that it knocks her out completely. Yang looks at him in mild surprise, as she's usually the one who strikes first. "She was droning on. I hate that." Yang shrugs at the explanation, and they follow the numbers and directions, even taking an elevator up to level H, before arriving at 94-H. The second they arrive, they can already tell they'll have an easy time leaving the docking bay as a pair of stormtroopers patrol the pocket-sized bay which holds a worn-looking Goznati cruiser that once looked to have an interesting paintjob but explosions had worn it down to a dull grey color. The duo look at each other and nod. Yang sneaks up on the stormtroopers who have their backs turned to her before grabbing their heads and smashing them together. Max then follows behind, carefully avoiding from stepping on the unconscious troops, and they run across the bridge for what seems to be the millionth time on this trip to enter the cruiser. Pressing the oval's screen-side to the panel on the side, the door swings upward and allowing them both to enter.

The door quickly shuts, and a thought quickly entered Max's mind as they reach the pilot's area. "Hey, Yang? Do you know how to fly this ship?"

She looks at the controls, and glares at him. "Are you shitting me? The last time I tried to fly anything was when Sander let me borrow his old friend, Flick's, merchant ship. I ended up crashing the ship within a minute and was nearly arrested for disturbing the peace."

Max can't hold it in, so he starts laughing hysterically before wiping a tear away. "Oh, we are so done for."

"Not necessarily." Their heads jerk up to the source, and find the 5' 5" man with a slightly hunched back, a former Gaian by the name of Severus Parody. "I knew what you were up to, so I jumped ship. No one would notice if I was missing, so I would do some good."

"How did you know to come here? Why are you really helping us?" Max asks, drawing his swords and holding them to Severus's throat. The man in question gives a long, defeated sigh.

"I told your captain, who so sarcastically introduced himself to me as Pink Floyd, that I once served the old Empire with my life. I know secrets of their most can't even imagine, for I was one of the instructors for the group that Daniel Cadmus was a part of. Yes, that was the name Agent Illinois once had before he gave everything to the cause. Once, the Empire I served stood for peace and justice and succeeded. However, at times, violence was necessary to tame those who would massacre innocents to achieve their goals and many outrageous choices were made, such as the exile of an alien who could have saved the galaxy from Darth Sidious, the true name of the name who now currently rules this planet. But now, its leadership has become arrogant, greedy, and all they wish now is to burn the galaxy and all life to its core and rebuild it with their superiors as the new rulers." He then gets himself seated in the co-pilot's seat. "I left recently as I was betrayed after learning this truth, and was forced into exile." He glares at Yang who snorts in amusement at the pun before continuing. "I simply wish to do what I can to save the galaxy before it's too late. Will you let me achieve that end?"

Silence reigns as everyone is in their own thoughts, weighing the options and effects of forming this alliance. After a minute, the choice is made. "We'll work together. Now, can we please get going? We've got a crazy lady possessing our captain trying to kill us."

Severus looks confused for a moment before forcing himself to his feet. "It seems like Cadmus actually paid attention to his training. When I arrived, I managed to find this hidden away." He then opens a storage room and out stepped a droid of human size and stature, but almost skeletal in shape and has a single red light glowing as the face.

"I am DK-001. What is your command?"

"Take this ship out of Coruscant and to Nal Hutta."

"Yes, Master." With that, it makes its way to the pilot seat and begins working on the controls.

"What the hell is Nal Hutta?" Max demands as Severus gets himself seated into the copilot seat once more as the pilot pulls the cruiser out of the docking bay.

"While you were taking your merry time getting here, I sorted through the logs of there the _Vengeful Spirit_ has been in the last six months. Most of those trips were simply refueling missions and the duration he was there indicated as much. However, one trip that caught my attention was a day-long trip to Nal Hutta. When the old Empire was in decline, they burned alive the entire Hutt Clan publicly. Only an up-and-coming Hutt named Voras was spared since he provided the location for the homes of the other Hutts, and had given many assurances that he would give up his trade."

"What exactly was being traded?" Yang asks, having a bad feeling about the answer.

"Black market weapons, armor, prostitutes, just to name a few things." He then looks ahead and grips the panel in front of him tightly. "We're here." As the ship is leaving the atmosphere of Coruscant, the more Star Destroyers are apparent to them.

"Unidentified ship, return to Coruscant immediately or face destruction." A formal and stiff voice barks from the communication device, only for it to be muted.

"What is your command, Master?" DK-001 asks Severus.

He looks forward and glares in challenge at the Star Destroyer. "Enter Beamspace." The droid pushes some buttons, and as the Star Destroyers try and destroy them, they enter Beamspace and the portal closes as soon as they completely fly through, leaving them to hit open space and even some civilian transports by mistake. In the confusion caused, the _Vytal_ slips by unnoticed and it too enters Beamspace and escaping Coruscant altogether.

Right in front of the cruiser is a large green planet with a ring orbiting loosely around it, and a single moon orbiting it as well. "There it is. Nal Hutta, the beating heart of all scum and villainy in the galaxy. As I have negotiated with the Hutts once, let me do the talking. Whatever you do, do not protest what you see." The ship continues making its way towards the planet, which is unusually silent. In fact, setting down on the planet in the middle of a swampy region was met with no resistance whatsoever.

"DK-001, stay here and watch the ship. You two, with me." He then takes a blaster rifle from the weapons locker and uses it as a cane while he steps out of the ship and into the musty environment. "Come, come." He states as he feigns the need for a walking stick, using the butt of the rifle as the stick end. Yang steps out next and activates Ember Celica, looking around closely for any signs of hostiles, and Max brings up the rear while shutting the door behind him.

Quickly yet cautiously, the group make their way through the steamy jungle while occasionally beating aside a branch or Yang shooting a dangerous-looking reptile that hisses at them threateningly. Eventually, they reach a squat wooden shack that has two boar-like aliens wearing thick leather armor holding a spear in each hand that are crossed. But as the trio approach, they pull the spears apart and stare at them in a hungry manner. Honestly, it makes Max a little uncomfortable, but Severus nods and walks inside with his companions sticking closer to him than before.

On and on they travel into the shack's depths before reaching a stone antechamber with a stone table that forms a semicircular shape, with a single Hutt sitting behind the table. He is a bloated yellow Hutt with large golden eyes in an almost-reptilian style, three scars over the right side of his body, and several pieces of jewelry all over his body, composing of bracelets on each arm, a face chain under his chin, and several different-styled rings barely fitting onto his bloated tail that has to be about 3 feet in diameter. At first, the Hutt looks smug about something as someone was leaving, but that happiness quickly drains away when spotting the three Force-users.

"Oh great Voras, Commander of the Hutt Clan." Severus states while getting onto a knee with considerable effort. "Thank you for letting us see you today."

By now, Voras's face has turned into a full-on scowl as he leers at all three of them, but then licks his lips when taking notice of Yang. She shivers deeply on the inside, but tries and does rather well at keeping it hidden. "Who are you?" Voras asks in perfect English. His voice is deep and bellowing that echoes dramatically around the cave.

"My name is Severus Parody, and these are my loyal companions, Max Peterson and Yang Xiao Long." The two just continue staring up at the Hutt, slightly disgusted with the creature before them.

Voras's mood did not seem to change in the slightest, now glaring at the scrawny and elderly man before him. "You are not Daniel Rey. The ship that touched down on my planet belonged to my associate, and yet he's not here. Why did you come in his ship?"

"He's been dead for years, Varos." Severus states, losing some patience. "As for you, you betrayed your own people when you provided the Heart of Death, as they were once called, with location of the Hutt Council in exchange for you to rule over your people, and live on under their dominion. I know you are still keeping your bargain with them out of fear because they are still around, and that you use their information to attack the Empire to provide for your own rule. Now, I want to know who is providing you with this information."

Voras did not like the answer one bit, evident by the deepest scowl any of them had ever seen. "Then you are truly ignorant. Guards!" Two dozen boar-like creatures, known only to Severus as Gamorreans, march from the side corridors as well as the two who guarded the main entrance, and point their spears at the creatures. "Kill them!"

As they charge towards the humans, Severus grips the blaster rifle tighter as he seems to age before their eyes, but then the spears splinter to pieces in the guards' hands. They grunt in surprise and pain of having splints in their hands, too distracted by that to notice the spear heads lifting up to their foreheads before impaling themselves deep into their brains.

The older man then shakily walks to the Hutt who looks surprised by how quickly they died. "I grow tired of your bullshit, Voras. You do realize that the old Empire I served will not spare you? They intend to burn you alive and all those who serve under you." He then steps up and gets right into the Hutt's face. "If you do not comply, imagine the worst pain you had ever felt in your life, and imagine you being consumed by it for a thousand years until you die. You know who I am, so what's it going to be? Are you going to take the easy way, or will you die here and now?" The man's dull green eye that is left flashes, giving off the view not of a simple human, but a dangerous opponent.

Voras did recognize him, and starts shaking violently out of fear, and looks on the verge of sobbing. "Okay, I'll tell you! Just please don't hurt me." Yang and Max stare at Severus, wondering what kind of man he is to bring out such fear in a gangster like this. "Yes, your old Empire is back and plotting to make their big move within a rotation. But I do not know the location for their base, you will need to ask my contact on Lothal. He is a human who only goes by the name of Alpha. Do not ask me his real name, I don't know. All I can tell you now is that he is a spy in the Empire that is stationed on the planet."

Severus pulls away and smiles. "Thank you. That is all. Come, come." He then starts walking away with two very confused and frankly disturbed companions following close behind.

"Wait." Voras calls out, with Severus turning to look at him. "Why are you doing this?"

"I made too many mistakes in my life. It's time I paid for them." With that, he leaves the hut altogether. The group then reaches the outside and start making their way back to their ship, only to encounter another squad of Gamorreans standing guard surrounding the cruiser they arrived on, and glare at the humans as they pass.

"What was all that?" Yang demands once they are on board and settled.

"I can't say I know what you mean. DK-001, take us to Lothal."

"As you wish." The cruiser then lifts up off the ground and starts flying towards space. However, the tension breaks when Yang grabs his armor by the chestplate and forces him into her face, eyes glowing red.

"I've had enough of your games, sir. Either you tell us who you are and why your mere presence sparked such fear in that gangster, or I will start throwing punches!" She then takes a deep breath, lets him go, and calms herself down before actually going too far. "I'm sorry. It's just my best friend is out there, dying at the hands of a witch we faced many years ago. I only want to know who I am working with to attain our goals."

The older man sighs at the explanation. "I suppose I haven't told you until now because I wondered whether or not you'd kill me before I was able to finish my mission, but I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. I am a shell of the man I once was, forcefully aged by the one who tried to kill me and ejected myself into a clone body to try and escape my fate. I am the man, who created the Gaian Empire you have heard about so much these last few days. And with how one of my most trusted companions betrayed me, I must do what I can to destroy what I built before it is too late."

Silence. Yang and Max simply stare into space, their thoughts trying to comprehend what they had heard. They are so distracted, they don't see the ship entering Beamspace until they reach the other end, to the planet where their journey began. And boy, they were not expecting what lay on the other side. "What is happening?" Max asks, once again reminded of his home, this time of how it looked with the civil war in full force. Because that is exactly what the planet of Lothal looks like.

The planet looks like it was a beautiful yet plains-filled world, but the single spot on the side facing them that looks suspiciously like smog. Around the cloud, enormous fires seem to be erupting along its surface, like massive wildfires are happening yet no one is doing anything about it. Yang too flinches at the sight, dreading the day Remnant looks like this planet if the Empire were to find it.

"Unidentified ship, this is Lieutenant Briggs. What is your status?"

"This is the _Vengeful Spirit_. We are offloading construction equipment for the… Mining Guild." Max had heard stories of the highly abusive company and decided to at least try and talk his way out of this.

"Why are you arriving on an unlisted ship?" Briggs asks imperiously.

"We were almost attacked by Voras the Hutt. We barely escaped and decided to try another ship to get to the planet."

Static can only be heard for a long minute before the speaker replies. "Sure. It's none of my business how the Mining Guild gets their supplies so long as they do their job right. TIE Fighters will escort you to Docking Bay 4. Enjoy your stay on Lothal."

The transmission cuts off and the rest of the trip passes in tense silence as Yang and Max make their way to the turrets built into either side of the ship just in case the Empire catches on to the ruse. Sure enough, two TIE fighters screech down to flank the ship and force it to a docking bay filled to the brim with Imperial forces and burly looking aliens who look to be part of the so-called Mining Guild.

" _Vengeful Spirit_ , please be ready to receive a boarding party to pick up the materials." An imperial officer shouts from outside of the ship, while two stormtroopers push what seems to be a giant lock into the landing gear and locks into place, bolting them down.

"No turning back now." Yang states, activating Ember Celica. There is no way out of this situation except to fight with everything they have. If these people have to die, then at this point, so be it. The side-door opens and the officer is instantly met with Yang punching him right in the chest, destroying his communication device. He falls out of the ship and landing on the two unfortunate stormtroopers. The rest of the troops and employees of the Mining Guild realize they are under attack and start arming themselves, but it's too late. Max leaps out and slices the blasters of the stormtroopers in half then slashing each of their chests deep enough to penetrate armor. It was a relatively shallow cut, but it still makes them stagger and eventually lose consciousness due to blood loss. Severus uses the Force to make all of the weapons wielded by the enemies who started to fire on them explode. The stormtroopers are fortunate to be wearing armor and are knocked to the ground, while the Mining Guild workers roll on the ground while screeching in pain from not only the burns but shrapnel of their weapons being imbedded in their bodies.

With everyone subdued, Severus woddles towards one of several speeders and transports parked next to the docked cruiser. "Let's go!" He shouts while getting himself seated in the driver's seat. Max and Yang get on to their own speeders, as they've had to improvise and use local speeders a lot in their battles against two Empires, and manage to activate the speeders with ease before rocketing away from the docking bay.

As they follow Severus towards the source, they do take a chance to look around the grassy fields and large obelisk-like boulders that are in abundance here. But then they pass by a hill, the only thing that can be seen is an enormous yet hideous floating tank that is grey with yellow stripes that is incinerating the yellowing fields wherever it goes. "Not even Weiss's dad would stoop this low." Yang mutters angrily upon seeing the ore crawler doing its job.

"Hey, Severus? Where are we going?" Max calls out to the former Empire founder, who seems to be slowing down a little.

"Capital City. Voras told us that his inside man was an Imperial stationed here. Before I was betrayed by my right-hand man, I had read reports of a single complex there that houses the data for every single Imperial on the planet and where they are located. It's our only chance of tracking them down." Severus shouts back then speeds up again, desperate to reach the city. However, he starts wobbling more than ever until he eventually falls off his speeder. They all stop and Max runs over to Severus who is panting and looking like he hasn't slept in a week. "Go on without me. I need to… rest…"

"We're not stopping here." Max states defiantly, then hauls the elderly man onto his speeder and drapes him over his shoulders before continuing on the journey. Within a minute, they start seeing a massive mushroom-shaped metal construct standing tall and proud over what seems to be an impressively-large city surrounded by stone walls. As they take in more details of the wall, they realize that a checkpoint separates them from the outside world and their well of information.

"We only have one way in! Follow me!" Yang shouts and pushes her speeder to its limits, with Max and his passenger hanging on. They blow through the checkpoint and the wind pressure of Yang's speeder sends the stormtroopers onto their asses and dazed enough to not notice Max also enter the city. They pass through the long tunnel while zipping by unprepared stormtroopers who start gathering their weapons and trying to fight back.

Yang tries to slow down but realizes that it can't slow down fast enough so she makes a quick choice by bucking to the left, and rolling on the ground while the speeder zooms forward, directly impacting the wall next to her and exploding. Max sighs and steps off of his speeder as well and sets Severus down, helping Yang back onto her feet and the group continue making their way through the tunnel and to the other side where more stormtroopers and panicked civilians are staring at them in shock. Yang, smirking, charges forward while dodging blaster shots and socks one in the head, using his momentum to knock the other troopers aside and into a wall.

Civilians start screaming and running in all directions for shelter as the trio make their way through the streets and towards the military complex looming overhead. They duck and weave through the streets to avoid troopers marching through the streets in search of them before reaching the doors. Another squad marches out of the doors, and as the blast doors close behind them, Yang and Max leap through while helping Severus through as the door shuts behind them.

Crouched down and cautious, they carefully sneak their way through the complex while following Severus. "Shouldn't there be security cameras or something? How are we not spotted right now?" Max asks while Yang keeps quiet and attentive to their surroundings.

"It's a trick I learned in my youth that I never had much use for called Force Camouflage. As long as I am consciously using the Force, I can render all of us invisible to outside sources. But you can't distract me, so shut up." Silently, they wander through the complex deeper and deeper, passing by stormtroopers who did not notice them at all. However, as they continue further, Severus looks more and more exhausted. In fact, when they reach the main server room and Max knocks everyone in there out cold, Severus starts leaning against the wall and gets some much-needed rest. Max rummage through the data while Yang watches the room as an extra set of eyes. He keeps scanning through the data before something catches his eye, and smiling, he downloads it into a flash-drive he took from the ship. He then continues searching and eventually finds a list of the Imperial transmissions leaving. Fortunately, however set up the system has almost absurd levels of detail, even displaying what transmissions were made. How the so-called spy 'Fulcrum' was able to get messages out in this station was beyond the ex-Autobot. They found the voice but that contains the codename 'Alpha,' and trace it back to the device the transmission was broadcast from. It was almost a shame to spill it, as it as set up very well, but in the end, he saw who had sent the transmission the whole time.

"So, you know the truth now." The group turn towards the source of the voice. Stepping carefully from a side door, is a man of average height, spiky blue-dyed hair, pale skin that is marred with numerous scars to show he has seen his fair share of war, and the coldest grey eyes peeking out from under his hair and the Imperial officer disguise. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone learned about our presence." He then glares at Severus, who promptly flips him off. "But it doesn't matter. Soon, our emperor shall rise from the ashes and claim this galaxy as his own!"

Yang and Max look at each other; it seems this man doesn't know who Severus really is. "Look, Lieutenant Briggs…"

"Temple. Since my cover's blown now, you may call me Alan Temple, Lieutenant of the Empire that is on the horizon."

"You're not a very smart man." Yang challenges, punching her fists together, "You would have bright an army here to fight for you."

To her slight surprise, Temple cackles for a moment before sneering at her. "I figured someone would find me one day, so I brought my whole team here for the moment." In that moment, five new people step in looking ready to fight at a moment's notice; one with shaggy brown hair, dark skin and brown eyes is wearing a teal shirt under his mechanic-style clothes while wielding screws and wrenches, a seasoned man with crystal blue eyes, grey hair, and slight wrinkles who is wearing the uniform of a captain for a Star Destroyer while wielding a chaingun-style laser weapon, a young man who looks to be about Yang's age with shoulder-length pink hair dressed as a pilot holding up a thermal detonator, a brown hair, blue-eyed boy with a round face in stormtrooper armor wielding his blaster rifle as a club, and of all things to top it off, a woman with waist-length blonde hair, amber eyes, smooth pale skin, and a skimpy golden bikini while wielding a pistol. "This is my team. I would introduce them, but frankly, I don't have the time or patience for it."

Yang looks all around, cursing herself for walking into an obvious trap. Temple then holds up a small hand-held cylinder, flipping up the top and revealing a red button. "What's that? Your BDSM button?" She asks sarcastically.

Temple chuckles slightly. "No, there's another time and a place for that. Years ago, the concept of a handheld Beamspace generator was drawn up, yet the prototypes disappeared all of a sudden. Now, it is perfected. Would you like to see it in action?"

"No! Do you realize how dangerous that is?" Severus shouts in slight terror while charging towards the Lieutenant. But it is too late; he presses the button and everything within a hundred meters gets engulfed in a sphere that conducts blue electricity before it completely disappears. After a long second, the light dies down and all of them are in the middle of a clearing hundreds of miles from any settlement on Lothal. Severus just falls to his knees in horror, Yang looks around frantically, trying to figure out where they are, while Max keeps his attention on the group surrounding them. She then glares at Temple, who smiles back.

"You know, your reputation doesn't let you down. In fact…" He then gestures to Cronut, who promptly throws two grenades at Severus and Max and the grenades shatter for the shackles to attach themselves to them both and no matter how hard they try to pull free, it fails. "I am somewhat of an admirer of yours." He then throws his blaster rifle to the side and gets into a brawling stance. "Cast off your weapons, and until one of us can't fight any longer, show me the Golden Warrior I have heard so much about!"

His squad takes a long step back, with Buckey pulling Severus and Max away. "Yeah! I'd like to see who takes who in the ass!" Cronut shouts enthusiastically.

Yang manages to stay calm as this should be an easy match, but still feels odd about getting rid of Ember Celica after all this time. True, she once had lightsabers as Ember Celica, but they had become much too heavy for her to use for long periods of time, so she ditched her lightsabers and rebuilt Ember Celica as they once were. The two combatants circle each other as the elderly captain starts making dramatic drum-style thumps with his mouth, but Yang remembers her training with Sander and her father so she waits.

After a minute, Temple groans. "Are you serious right now? Well, if you insist." He then charges forward and punches Yang. She punches his arm away and hits him in the stomach. He stumbles back, but as Yang tries to take advantage of the situation, he recovers and grabs her by the arm, throwing her onto the metal floor that got teleported with them. "That's the spirit!" Yang then encases Temple with her legs and brings him down to the floor. She then pushes herself onto her feet and tries to punch him in the face, but he moves to the side and rolls onto his feet.

As he starts striking repeatedly to break down the defense of Yang's arms, she tries to figure out her situation. It seems this Temple is somewhat experienced in hand-to-hand combat and while she's underestimated him, he's managed to keep up and even gain an advantage. But perhaps he moves too much at times…

He then leaps into the air and punches Yang again, knocking her back a good two yards, while she's stunned he performs a roundhouse kick that sends her almost rolling out of the metal circle, but she manages to get back onto her feet in time, then lets out a puff of hair. She can't afford to be careless anymore; her loved one could be dead now, and all she's doing is fighting a cocky asshole who serves an organization that could reach her home and destroy it.

When she looks up at Temple, he's shocked as hell to see her eyes glowing red and her hair flashing yellow. A shout of shock comes from the bikini-clad woman standing behind Temple. "You made the worst mistake of your life. And that is to challenge me." She then charges forward and starts a whole new barrage of punches. While Temple tries to dodge, he does get hit once or twice in the chest. To make him even more confused, when he tried a counter-attack to gain a new opening, Yang seems to only punch harder than before.

After a dozen punches, Yang formulates a new plan and tries a drop-kick. He jumps overhead, but Yang punches him from his back that is facing the ground, sending him several feet into the air and crashing down, denting the metal considerably. He moans loudly, forcing himself to his feet only to collapse to his knees and panting. "You are… every bit the fighter I know…"

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." Yang states in an impatient manner. "Just tell us where your headquarters is and I'll stop." This was a bluff as she doesn't want to kill anyone, but she'll see if it works.

Temple, to her slight surprise, chuckles darkly. "I don't know. Why don't you ask them?"

His squad raise their weapons as Max finished using the duel to break the shackles of not only himself but of Severus as well, only to have several plasma weapons pointing to their faces. As if that wasn't dramatic enough, what seems to be three dozen Gaian Empire soldiers charge from a transport over the hill and surround them again. Leading them are three different armored soldiers of differing colors and designs as well as unique weapons, ranging from what seems to be a tennis racket with electricity crackling in the netting to a man with buzzed black hair and wearing armor that seems to be made of loudspeakers typically found at TV shops.

Max looks around, uncertain of his choice, but Yang realizes something of importance. After a moment, she raises her hands in surrender. He stares at her in shock, but follows suit as well. Severus realizes what his companions are planning, and follows suit.

The maven with speakers for armor then walks up to the trio with a big smile on his face and three new pairs of shackles magnetically held together. "At least you rebels know when you've lost to a higher power in the universe."

* * *

 _AN:_ Almost to the big moment. After this chapter, the fate of the old empire will be determined.

I will see everyone then, and remember, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. :)

*To be clear, this man is Admiral Coburn of the Republic Navy.


	9. Battle of the Forge

**1715 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; Three Hours after being Captured by the Gaian Empire**

 **Unknown Location**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

Silence. Absolute silence.

This aggravating sound is what greets Yang Xiao Long out of her bizarre sleep. A dream filled with burning fields and Grimm feasting upon everything and everyone in it with her fighting a hopeless battle until a warrior she doesn't recognize stands from the ashes while wielding a sword that is hard to look at just because it keeps on blurring.

She looks around, and finds herself completely alone in the red-lit room, floored with uncomfortable metal grates and a single metal bed with a pathetic excuse for sheets. Frantically, she jumps to her feet and searches for the only way out, finding it in quick fashion. The blonde then charges towards the door to try and punch it down, but as she reaches the door, she starts feeling woozy and collapses to her knees while panting heavily.

The last thing she remembers was being surrounded by imperials. Naturally, being who she is, she tried to take all of the surrounding officers at once, even beating one of them down, before getting caught and injected with a serum that knocked her out completely for who-knows-how long. "Damn it…" Yang mutters while trying to make herself recover from the after-effects of the chemical that was injected into her, barely noticing that she was wearing a yellow jumpsuit and wasn't wearing her shotgun gauntlets.

After an uncertain amount of time when Yang manages to get back onto her feet, the door swings upward and a trio of Imperials, two of them wearing the black armor typical for the Imperial Army, while the other is an enormous man whose skintight black skinsuit shows off how muscle-bound he is, completely bald, a darker skin tone, scars on his face and arms, with beady black eyes. "Take her." The two troopers then kick Yang in the stomach, and she falls back onto her side in a daze. The duo then grabs each of her arms and drag her on her legs across the floor out of her cell and through the narrow metal corridors.

She has been in many Imperial bases and planets in this strange and diverse galaxy, but this base was unique due to how narrow the corridors are, and how few people were traversing in these paths. They take a left and take a small staircase up a level until reaching another long level of corridors that has a much more different vibe to them. By different vibe, she's referring to the multiple screams that echo through the narrow corridor from the doors that were opening for assistants to gather whatever their doctors request, lit from the floor by yellow lightbulbs. Based on the pitch and endurance of the screams, whatever they are being subjected to must be hellish beyond imagination.

The group takes a right and travels down the corridor lined with rooms leading to what seem like torture chambers until reaching a room on the right. The lead interrogator, it seems, pulls a keycard from under his thick navy-blue suit and places it against the panel on the door's right, opening them up and leading them inside. Yang doesn't bother fighting against her captors because she is not only too tired, but she wants to know what they want to know, and when they inevitably return her to her cell for a break before resuming interrogation, she will figure out how to proceed next.

The dead white room is about the size of her cell, about 10' x 10' in size, and no space was unoccupied by the massive variety of devices that can only have one logical purpose; to extract information. Realizing that, Yang starts struggling harder than before but one of the troops carrying her uses his free hand to do a judo chop right to her neck, making her slightly dazed, but without Aura, it would have been much worse.

That moment of weakness was all the guards need to lead her towards a metal table and strap her arms and legs to the metal shackles. "Let's see." The bald man then pulls out a data pad, and scans it over with a piercing gaze. "Prisoner 1901, Yang Xiao Long, age 23, blonde, purple eyes, a close-range brawler evident by the videos captured of her and the testimony of one Lieutenant First-Class Alan Temple. Instated into the California Extraction Ward for the sole purpose of learning from the 'guests' who check in here, and that's enough I need to know. Now, since your old man wouldn't stop whimpering in pain as soon as we started, and your brute couldn't speak due to whatever fucked-up shit was going on in his mind, I'm going to do to you what I did to your pussified friends. I will ask you one question and if you do not provide me the answer I want, I will press harder and harder."

Yang stares at the lead torturer and spits slightly, hitting his cheek. He brushes it aside and smiles, and it's not a pleasant one either.

"Well, okay. Let's begin. Who revealed to you the location of Lieutenant Temple?" He asks. Yang glares up at him, defiant to him. Whoever Severus was before he came the man he is now, he will spill on his own time. Besides, she wouldn't snitch on him since this man could straight-up kill him and as a Huntress, Yang will not let that happen.

"Fine." He then walks to a box and pulls out a… metal feather? He then walks over to where her feet are, and starts stroking the pointy end against the soles of her feet. It tickles slightly, but hurts more. Yang hitches her breath, but channels her Aura into her feet so her feet don't get cut. "Confess." He states after 10 minutes, walking up to her face, only to find a grinning Yang looking back. The man looks even more annoyed than before going to the other foot, while pressing harder than before for 10 minutes as well. To his dismay, nothing happens.

"What a worthless tool." He states, then puts the feather back into the box. He then nods to the soldiers, who put a plastic bag over her head. He then pulls out a bucket filled with a strange fluid that he pours over her head. The gelatinous neon-blue substance rolls of the plastic, making breathing almost impossible for the blonde. Her Aura tries its best to keep her alive, but air slowly starts being drained from her lungs, her breaths start to become increasingly ragged and painful, with her vision starting to blur. But as the darkness is about to swallow her vision, the bag is ripped from her head and she starts gagging violently. "Confess."

Yang's smugness and pride are gone, now replaced with a deep glare. He sighs deeply, before nodding. Two more times the bag is placed on her head and is suffocated deeply, and twice more she remains silent and strong; that doesn't mean her strength and Aura are remaining vigilant, however. By this point, the head torturer is starting to turn red in the face. "What's wrong? Spent too much time in the sun?"

The second the last word left her mouth, Yang flinches slightly at the deep growl emanating from the bald man. Maybe she pushed him over the edge. "You think you're so smart, don't you? Well, let me tell you something, bitch, I'll show you what I do best!" He then opens his mouth and starts a high-pitched whistle comes out. Yang winces in pain while the troops too seem stricken by what's about to happen. As his search for the next tool to use continues, the whistling turns to an even higher-pitched tone and the way he raises and lowers his pitch tells her that he's singing an opera song that is loud but pleasant to hear. At is, until the man turns around with wicked eyes wide and showing how insane he is while wielding a large pair of industry-grade scissors. The operatic singing now takes on a tragic tone as he walks over with Yang looking at the crazy man, trying to fight down the fear welling up inside her. As he reaches his captive, his pitch reaches its highest yet and as he maintains it, he starts cutting off her fingers one by one. Her Aura does its best to try and protect her from the cuts, but after putting all his might into the slicing, it shatters and her right pinkie finger is sliced cleanly off by right to the palm.

Yang Xiao Long, one of the toughest fighters on Remnant and survivor of many injuries that would have broken a normal man, screams in complete agony and feels true fear for the second time in her life. He continues vocalizing as he then chops off her right ring finger, right thumb, followed by the left index and ending with her left middle finger. "What are you doing?" One of the troopers asks, showing slight shock at how quickly things have escalated.

The man's smile widens to levels that Yang didn't think was possible, then takes her fingers and sets them aside before walking towards a black crank attached to the table she's strapped to, and starts twisting it to his right. The table starts folding to where her headrest is gone, her arms and legs are pulled as taught as possible, and all of the pressure is placed onto her mid-back region.

The further he spins the crank; the more pressure is applied and the pain becomes greater than anything Yang has ever felt before. Eventually, her breaths start to become hitched and her head starts to feel like a balloon. Even her pain starts to become numb with the pungent smell of iron filling her up. Yang closes her eyes, accepting the result of the session while mentally apologizing to her entire family and everyone else important to her for letting them all down, and for letting Sander down most of all.

"No. Please." Yang's amethyst eyes spring open, but instead of the white torture she's grown accustomed to, she's in the middle of a tube of sorts, with swirling white light all around her while rocketing forward at incomprehensible speeds.

"What's happening to me?" Yang asks, completely baffled while looking around and seeing only the tunnel she's passing through. But something in the light catches her attention, and as she looks closer, she begins to bear witness to strange visions. The first vision she sees is on the large bridge of a ship with the crew working at nauseous speeds while the spaceship flies away from a large-scale battle between the ship's forces and another fleet that is getting hammered hard and towards a specific point in front of a large ice-based planet. The conversations are jumbled to where Yang can't understand what they're saying, but the more she concentrates on the sight, the clearer everything becomes.

"Let this day mark the destruction of the Chiss Empire, for their destruction is the will of the Force. Lieutenant Tauk, fire at will." An older man says, looking exactly like one of Temple's teammates, but younger.

"Aye, Captain." A crewmember barks back, and within seconds, a beam of light streaks through space and towards the planet.

Yang, at first, thinks the plan is crazy and nonsensical, but then a man with a single orange eye and ratty black hair stands up from the captain's chair and raises his hands. As he does so, more and more cracks start appearing on the planet to where it encompasses the whole surface; Yang stares in horror at the sight. "Checkmate." The man states before swinging his arms apart and the planet explodes.

The vision then turns white and shifts to seeing… herself and all the huntsman defending Beacon academy from the White Fang and Grimm assault. Everything plays out as she remembers it, even the fight against Cinder Fall, Adam Taurus, and the aged war machine, Tiel. The villains kick the crap out of Sander and Yang, both of whom made mistakes that modern Yang shakes her head at. But when Adam slices off part of past Yang's arm, Sander calls out her name in terror. His loss of control manages to wound Cinder and Adam, Tiel scooping them up and carrying them both away from the battlefield while Sander uses the last ounce of his powers and energy to heal her arm. Tears start to form in Yang's eyes, as she never realized that had actually happened, and yet another vision starts to play out.

This one seems to be on a rocky island, and Sander is walking along casually before receiving a phone call from the only resident on the island, Dr. Merlot. "Oh, yes, I do. In fact, I came here to talk with you in person." Sander tells the man on the phone, who replies back though Yang can't hear, and hangs up. "Shit." He pockets the phone, only to walk towards the field and get assaulted by 26 Grimm, including two Alphas. As he's ready to fight them, a familiar seductive voice whispers to him about letting loose his powers. And as the Grimm continue charging, the shadows seem to consume them all, leaving nothing in their path. Yang's eyes widen further; so, this that how Salem was able to eventually weasel her way into Sander's subconscious? If so, then she needs to live! She wants to live to see her family again, and to save Sander's life.

She is so shocked by the latter event that she pulls away and floats in the tube trying to process it. As she realizes what's happening, the world around her turns completely white, to where she has to cover her eyes. As sudden as the flash started, it stops. Yang lowers her arms and takes in her new surroundings.

Her feet are on solid ground this time, and she is now in a cylindrical chamber, with a stone floor that has colored stones giving the depiction of a man wearing leather armor typically worn in the ancient days reaching to the sky for something. She then looks around and every inch of the stone walls are lined with windows, with the shutters closed.

Curious, Yang walks to the window, which is exactly the size of the others and big enough to walk through without issue, resting on the ground directing in front of her. But as she's about to open the door, she notices that she only has half her fingers left, and the missing fingers are replaced with smoothed-over stumps. Sighing in defeat, she then lifts up her left hand, and with tremendous effort, she opens the window shutters. Directly in front of her is a swirling wall of white, with the other side being completely invisible. "No. Make it stop."

Yang freezes in place upon hearing the voice of Sander, one that was broken and full of pain, from the other side of the mist. "Sander! Hang on, I'm on my way!" Yang shouts then charges through the mist to the other side*.

She continues charging before stumbling and falling into the ground. When she sits up, she finds herself on a small grassy hill, with a dirt-lined road next to her placed into a miniature valley and forests on either side of said road. Soon, a truck that typically hauls tons of rocks at a time rumbles past towards an even larger hill in the distance. Yang looks around desperately for Sander, and spots something that really shakes her up. Sander is running towards the hill, his entire body half-transparent and flakes of color seem to literally he flying from him as he searches for something. "Sander…" Yang calls out, walking towards him.

The huntsman-in-question turns to look at her, and his eyes widen in horror, taking a step back. "No. No! Leave me alone, you fucking crazy-ass wench!" He then turns around and starts making a break for the hillside where the truck is going.

Yang chases after him, having a good idea what's going on already. "Wait!" She calls out as she chases him and eventually catches up, but what she doesn't realize is that he deliberately slowed down to swing his arm back and sock her in the side of her head. While she's down, he sprints across the fields towards the truck, which was obviously attacked by a giant Nevermore since there's a giant Nevermore impaled into the truck's driver seat and the massive battle that was going on is wrapping up. Yang gets up and continues chases her friend to the top of the hill, with scenes of carnage, a single explosion site with blood splattered all around it, and the rotting corpse of what looks like a powerful huntsman kicking the crap out of… Karel Allusis? Yup, that looks exactly like him, only less scarred and somewhat younger than the one they know. He is then knocked to the ground, continuously stomped on before breaking one of the other Karel's legs.

Yang stares at the scene for a moment, which was all the time Sander needs to try and pick up the pistol wielded by one of the attackers, only for his hand to pass through the weapon. Sighing in annoyance, he then charges towards Yang to try and punch her. She dodges to the side and tries to hit him back, only for him to dodge. Taking advantage of Yang being outstretched, he swings his leg up and sends Yang onto her ass out of surprise. "That's it. If I can't talk to you, I'll have to beat some sense back into you." Yang mumbles, but Sander catches it and looks confused before hardening.

"You'll never take me alive again, Salem! You hear that? You'll have to kill me first!" He then pulls out a bronze-colored metal rod with a red jewel on top from out of thin air and waves it in a circular motion in front of him, a white circle forming in the air.

Yang realizes what's happening and charges forward while a dark-skinned woman wearing a mask reminiscent of the White Fang pointing a pistol to the battered and bruised face of Weiss's younger brother, Whitley, who turned out to be a much better person than the puppet of Jacques Schnee everyone thought he was. As he begs for his life and the masked woman puts two bullets into his head moments later, the blonde brawler tackles the fleeing Sander through the portal and they both tumble through.

What lay on the other side is such a sharp shift in scenery that it almost gives Yang whiplash; while the last place was forested and peaceful, what is around them now is a rectangular stone courtyard of a massive beautiful castle that rivals Beacon being partially destroyed from a recent battle with rolling hills behind them and two men separating from a small, black yet cloudy mass. One is a black-robed man who looks like a snake faunus to Yang and the other looks like the fleet's leader seen in her reality, only wearing round glasses and a brown leather jacket and seems to be much more honest as well.

Sander glowers at Yang with defiance before his eyes turn black with golden irises. "Get off!" The explosion of his powers sends Yang flying off but landing on her feet, thanks to her limited Force use. She charges forward and starts punching Sander relentlessly as the two people next to them pick up sticks from the ground. "Avada Kedavra!" The snake man shouts, while the boy replies with, "Expelliarmus!" Sander and Yang are briefly distracted by the beams of green and red respectively shoot from the sticks and collide before they resume their fight. Sander summons a black sword with white bone plating and a Beowulf head at the bottom of the hilt and tries slashing at Yang, to which she slides under the slash and uppercuts him. While in mid-air, Sander resummons the rod and pushes a button on the bottom and the white portal appears again. Annoyance starting to fill her up, Yang jumps through the bottom of the portal as it closes, with the green beam being overpowered and Voldemort collapsing to the ground, dead.

The third location they wind up in is an ancient factory of sorts filled with ruined machinery and nasty green water completely covering the floor and then there's a device that is attached to a red-armored person with blonde hair to rival Yang's, with a soldier in green armor and another girl who is also blonde, wearing a purple suit on and staring at the unconscious figure.

Yang slowly gets up, and looks around only to not find Sander anywhere. "Where are you?"

A gust of fire comes from a dark corner and completely circles her in flames while the factory's active residents take notice of strange blue-armored robots with a sinister red eye and laser guns on their shoulders steam-rolling the soldiers' comrades and firing everywhere.

Yang then activates Ember Celica and uses its momentum to launch itself from out of the flames, just missing them and landing on the other side. The purple-wearing girl screams and shouts, "Milan!"

The blonde brawler does her best to not get distracted by the carnage around her again and instead search for her friend, who has disappeared again. "Come on. Sneak attacks, really? This is not your style! I don't want to fight you, so come on out."

"That's what you said last time, Salem. It won't work again." Sander whispers behind her, kicking her forward and waving the rod he has in hand and making a portal to send Yang through. Sander then takes a moment to notice the doctor, named Ciel, sobbing as she holds her hand out. "Passy!" Ciel shouts as something travels at the speed of light through a barrier encasing the red-armored man. Sander too lets out a tear, knowing what it's like to lose a friend in order to win, before summoning a different portal for himself and taking him back to his makeshift base until he can figure this madness out.

Yang lets out a loud moan, and sits up. She looks down and realizes she's lying on a wooden stage and looks up, only to stare up at someone's ass. Shakily, she looks up and realizes that she's on stage with a rock band playing rather well. They must be the opening act, judging by how small the audience is. When they finish, an orange light flashes onto the topless guitarist as he narrates the song they were playing. "And oh, how they danced. The little children of Stonehenge beneath the haunted moon, for fear that daybreak, I come too soon."

Yang stares at the guitarist with interest before noticing another member muttering 'What the fuck?' over and over again. Yang follows his eyesight, and bursts out cackling at seeing the smallest stone monument Yang has ever seen float down to the stage. Apparently, the prop makers were smoking some serious pot when they came up with that. The band then starts playing the mandolin and two dwarfs step out on stage to dance around the tiny Stonehenge with the band taking notice and looking like they just got told 'no' to hot sex. Yang bursts out laughing once more as this is legitimately the funniest thing she'd ever seen; the stone monument is at risk of getting crushed by dwarves! If only Sander could see this, he'd…

Yang sobers up at that, and looks around for any way to leave this scene and find Sander again. She doesn't have the wand or whatever Sander has, but she summons all he willpower and determination into one focal point: finding Sander and bringing him home. Right in front of her, a spark of white light appears. It takes half a minute, but the portal eventually appears and an exhausted Yang walks through, missing the dwarves dancing around the little Stonehenge and another drugged-up idiot rotating the thin wires attached to it to make the prop fall down.

When she walks through her portal once more, she winds up in yet another different scene. This time, she's in the middle of a boxed canyon in the middle of what seems to be a massive ring with a moon not only visible despite it being clear blue skies but also whole. All around her are rocks, thick grass entangling the fields, and piles of corpses wearing white armor and holding sniper rifles. In the distance, they see a platoon of soldiers wielding different weapons, ranging from sniper rifles to shotguns, and wearing colors that are on the spectrum of blue and red. In Yang's eyes, the two most interesting soldiers of the bunch are the orange soldier due to how fat he is while the yellow soldier is clearly a girl. Could they be related? She notices they are all staring at a grey transport flying away from the canyon, disappearing for a moment. "Boo! No explosion!" The orange soldier protests loudly, only for a large explosion to be seen and heard seconds later way up into the atmosphere.

Yang shakes her head at how ridiculous these guys are before noticing the unique fluctuation in the Force she has learned due to spending time with Sander. Cautiously, Yang sneaks through the canyon and towards a cave on the left side of the canyon, walking inside and through the tunnel and reaching a pond on the inside. There, lying on the banks is Sander gripping his head in pain as he starts fazing in and out. "Just make it stop." Sander mutters, pain working its way into his voice.

The blonde brawler stares at him before making a choice. She walks up to him and tries grabbing his shoulder, succeeding in doing so. Sander lets go of his head, but Yang turns him around and plants a deep kiss on his lips. The protests die out in him and he melts into it the kiss, and seconds later, the light casting out from Sander pulls back into him, making him whole again. He pulls away and stares at his closest friend with shock. "Is that really you, Yang?" He then notices her fingers and his eyes become the size of dinner plates. "Oh my Gods, what happened?"

"Later." Yang replies sharply making him quiet down. "Do you know what's happening?"

"This might be a look into all the choices made in the universe, and how each differing choice makes a new possibility. I know the Force is completely bizarre, but this is just flat-out absurd." Sander looks around. "I found this in one of the chambers I visited before you arrived." He then pulls out the rod he found. "Since this allows me unlimited and easy access throughout this… Window Room?"

"…Okay then." Yang mutters, not wanting to get in a fight over what to call this.

"Anyway, I think we can use this to escape this place and back to reality."

"What will you do? It's not like you have control of yourself any longer." Yang has a point, to which Sander strokes his hair in embarrassment.

"I may have an idea on what to do. I saw a possibility involving people being built cybernetic bodies and using them for various methods, whether it's to save a life, provide new ways to kill, or play a very high-speed game of tag involving a metal ball. If I could… return to my body for a bit, I think I can help you out and distract her whenever I can until I find a body to take as my own."

Yang stares at her friend with deep surprise. "Santiago Blanco, that was the craziest and dumbest thing you've ever said. What if you're caught and have no way to escape again?"

"Then I will die, ensuring that Salem will no longer be able to harm you or anyone else. Besides, if I can play my cards right, this might work." Sander then takes Yang's hands. "I know that I've been a real dick to everyone, so I don't deserve to get a good answer for this, but can you trust me?" A long silence passes before Yang nods vehemently, tears forming in her eyes. He then looks down at her hands. He nods back while looking at her fingers. "You're the strongest person I know. Go kick some ass for me, okay?"

Yang smiles wide, hugs Sander deeply, then stands up. At this point, it's almost embarrassing to think she regretted the relationship as it seemed to be starting out too fast, but it worked out somehow. "Say, Sander?" He looks up with confusion. "How do you know that I am who you think I am, and not Salem?"

"Call it a hunch." He gives a reassuring smile, then pulls out the rod once more, and makes another portal, with the two walking out as the yellow and aqua-armored soldiers step into the cave.

"That's it?" The girl asks upon seeing the muddy pond.

Within a moment, they are back in the cylindrical room lined with shut windows and the tile mosaic at their feet. As Sander looks around, Yang looks at the mosaic, wondering where the light was coming from. She then kneels down and taps the mosaic. To her surprise, the ground below them is hollow. Sander hears it too, and looks down. He then pulls out the rod, about 3 feet in length with strange engravings all over, and shrugs before thrusting it at the ground. Upon impact, the ground shatters and they both free-fall from the chamber and into the pure white void, flying through the tunnel that took them there in the first place before the barrage of colors becomes overwhelming and both lose consciousness.

Yang lets out several gasps of air, and when she reopens her eyes, she's back in the all-white torture chamber and lying on the ground. She is tired and pain course through her body, but she isn't dying like she once was. As her focus returns, the more apparent the conversation happening around her becomes. "…the fuck is wrong with you, Abbasi!" Yang then looks to see a doctor of sorts wearing a purple lab coat while holding a medical kit at his side with the two soldiers standing back, not stepping in as the head interrogator was getting chewed out by the doctor. "You were supposed to extract information from Prisoner 1901, not kill!"

The interrogator stands his ground and glares at the doctor who is a foot taller, growls. "Our emperor needs to know where our leak was coming from, and she was the only one who didn't flip out during the interrogation. If I don't get that information, all of our heads will roll! Besides, if anything, it's your fault for making the devices here too damn effective."

"My fault?!" The doctor exclaims in absolute outrage as Yang silently crawls to the side, realizing that the soldiers are standing too close to the door for her to sneak out unnoticed; time to get messy.

Silently, she grabs the pair of scissors carelessly set aside that were used to take her fingers then stab them in the neck, where the armor is least fortified. The man shouts in pain before falling and the other soldier tries to shoot at her, only for the brawler to punch the stabbed soldier into the other, making the plasma rifle slip from his hands and go off, blasting his firing hand off. Yang then acts quickly, sliding on her bed and kicking the doctor aside, only to start slowing down instantly due to how damn lightheaded she is, losing so much blood.

That moment of weakness is taken advantage of when Abbasi grabs Yang and forces her onto the bed, strangling her. "You thought you could escape this place, piggy? Well, think again. No one has defeated me yet."

Yang struggles with the grip, trying to break it, only to notice the metal bucket filled with the gel poured onto her head not too long ago and within her reach. "Yeah? You should have seen me in my prime. But then again, I don't have to beat you in strength." While she was talking, her good hand was stretched out to try and reach it, managing to grip it by the time she's done talking. Abbasi finally notices what she's up to, but Yang sweeps the bucket to her right, pouring the neon-blue gel onto his bald head and even the bucket hanging onto his flat head. He lets out an almost inhuman screech of agony as the gel starts sticking to his face, steam curling off the exposure site.

The brawler winces at the site. "Sorry, buddy. That looks painful." She then notices an oval device hanging at his side, and ignores his cries as she grabs the device and dangles it on her right pinkie; the door opens instantly.

"No! No!" She then walks out the door as the torturer protests the action as Yang sprints out the door and throws the device down the hall, to which it slips through the cracks of the grated floor and clatters elsewhere. But as the key's far away from the door, it swings down and shut, sealing off any trace of his existence from the outside world. Yang leans against the wall next to the room she suffered in, and starts catching her breath while a tear rolls down one of her cheeks. All she can think about in her break is whether or not Sander is okay, battling Salem in a battle of wills. But like all things these days, the only thing she can do now is have faith.

Drawing a shaky breath, Yang pushes herself back onto her feet while resting her left hand against the wall. Looking around for anyone else in the corridor, she slowly walks toward the small staircase of 6 steps leading down to the main hall, and looking left and right to try and find anyone approaching.

To her immense surprise and confusion, the hallway leading to the cells is as silent as the grave.

Before Yang can formulate a plan on how to proceed from here, one of the doors leading to an interrogation room makes the hissing sound before swinging upward. Hearing it, the blonde hides behind one of the walls to hide herself from whoever was stepping out. Fortunately, it is not Abbasi who broke out because an Imperial soldier is hauling a prisoner, a Twi'lek who looked to be in rather bad shape. Yang holds a breath, hoping to whichever god listens to her that she isn't noticed. She then pats her sides and realizes that she doesn't have the cell key on her!

Sighing in annoyance, she takes an immense risk and peaks around the corner. The lead interrogator is standing in the hallway, looking down at a data pad. A small smirk forms on her face, a new idea formulating in her mind. She then uses her right hand and uses the Force to find the key wherever it is then levitating it out from the grates it was stuck in before making it jingle. This catches the interrogator's attention, who asks, "What the fuck is this?" She then charges toward the interrogator then drops into a sliding position with one leg on the ground to knock the woman off-balance then leaps into the air to use her momentum to punch her in the back of the head. The impact knocks him out cold as Yang grabs the key. The noise of her crash makes Yang wince deeply, knowing she has little time before her work is found.

Working quickly, she very clumsily grabs her legs and drags her to the open chamber, putting her with the other torture utensils before grabbing the key in the chest pocket and throwing it aside, making the door close. Having bought herself some time, Yang then sprints back towards the cell levels only to realize she has no idea which one contains her friends. She uses her key to open one cell only to shut it after nearly getting attacked by a captured stormtrooper. "Nope." She then tries another cell, expecting some terrifying creature on the other side; nothing. After the third cell, the door opens to reveal an elderly man breathing in and out deeply and his legs crossed. "Severus!"

He opens his eyes as Yang hides inside the door and shutting the door after pushing the black side of the oval upon hearing a rhythmic pair of thumps approaching. "What's going on?" Severus asks, groaning in pain as he uncrosses his legs and pushes himself back onto his feet. He then notices Yang's hands and he quickly realizes what's going on. "You never cease to amaze me, Ms. Xiao Long."

"Eh, it was just a matter of pulling out of the situation." Yang replies with an attempted grin, but it comes off as a wince as her hands spike with pain.

Severus flinches at that. "I will never un-hear that again, and I can't wait to never speak of this. As soon as possible." As he finishes talking, the thumps start to fade where they were coming from, leading someone screaming in protest away.

"This is our chance. We need to find Max, then get the hell out."

"He's held in cell 1776, two floors above us. From what I understand, he had a nasty shock." Yang nods in gratitude then reactivates the key, the door swinging upward. She looks out towards the corridor and finds it open. Shaking her head, Yang walks out into the hall, but Severus shakily walks out and starts walking as fast as he can to the left, which is honestly pretty fast.

Yang easily keeps up while watching for anyone else to watch out for, ducking behind a wall once to avoid a pair of troops patrolling the corridors. Eventually, Severus leads them to a circular corridor with six elevator doors in total. He presses one of the buttons and instantly, a door swings downward to show an empty elevator shaft. They both enter the elevator and Severus presses the red button on the inside two up from the flashing button. The door swings up and they make their way up two floors. "Interrogation Sector, level 17." A male automated voice states. Severus recognizes the voice and his eyes narrow to slits while gripping one of his fists together.

"Um, what…" Yang never gets the chance to finish her question as the door swings down again to reveal a pair of Imperial troops in front of them. Acting on pure instinct and channeling some of her recovered Aura into the strike, Yang thrusts both of her fists forward and punches both soldiers in the face. The powered attack sends them down and start to get back up, only for Severus to kick them in the necks one by one. The impact in the weak point knocks them out cold.

Yang then walks out of the circular chamber and looks up at the numbers hanging over the doors. Following the pattern, Yang walks to the right and reaches the room marked 1776, right near this floor's interrogation chambers. She pulls out her key and tries to use it, only for the door to remain in place. "Each key only works with a certain floor." Severus catches up with Yang then holds up his right hand. Using the Force, he tricks the door into opening.

Max was sitting on the cell's bed, looking down at the floor. "Max? Max! Snap out of it!" Yang then slaps his cheek when he doesn't respond the first time. He looks up at the duo standing over him, and his blue eyes seem to gain life upon seeing them.

"Guys…" He says with a smile forming on his face before standing up and hugging Yang, which she does in return. "You came for me."

"You're part of our team. We would never leave you behind." Yang replies, smiling at her friend.

"Alright, this is a sweet moment, but get a move on already. We need to get out of here before they figure out what's happened." Severus states, giving glances to the outside corridor.

"Nice to see you too." Max replies sarcastically, strength returning to his body as he stands up. "What's the plan?"

"We get our stuff back, make our way to the docking bay and get out of here." Yang is then slapped hard by Severus.

"That is not how wars are won. We are closer to destroying this empire than anyone has ever been, and I will not rest until I have destroyed this place." He tells the two. Yang sighs in annoyance, but sees his point.

"Well, since you know your way around the ship. Lead the way." Severus simply nods and walks out of the cell, with the other two freed prisoners making their way through the complex and back to the elevators.

"Hey. You okay?" Yang whispers as they make their way back.

"Oh, yeah. I faked my trauma so I could figure out a way to escape. These soldiers don't know the first thing about interrogation, so I played that to my advantage." Max whispers back before noticing half of Yang's fingers are missing; he blanches at the sight and lo"oks down in shame.

The trio step over the groaning soldiers as they start to regain conscience. For good measure, Max kicks their heads to the side, knocking them out again before stepping onto the elevator. "Good evening. Which floor would you like to go to?" The automated elevator voice asks.

"Docking Bay, level 1." Severus replies curtly in an autorotative voice.

"…Acknowledged." The elevator then rockets through the complex. Max glares at the elderly man slightly, becoming increasingly suspicious.

"You seem to know where we are. Why don't you enlighten the rest of us as to what this place is?"

Severus sighs. "I figured that question was going to come up eventually. We are currently standing on the Star Forge II, the main military base for my empire. Don't ask me where the headquarters is, as it switches worlds after a year and I've been out of the loop for 5 years now. This station was built using the pieces of the ancient Star Forge and is the birthplace of the deadliest fleet this galaxy has ever seen; it's fitting, what it has been refitted for. Without this station, its owners will never truly recover."

As he finishes, the elevator doors open and they finally arrive at the main complex. Max starts to step out of the complex, only for a trio of men to pass by; two soldiers and a sergeant patrolling the floor. Seeing a new opportunity, Max kicks the closest trooper knocking him down then places his hand around the officer's mouth and nose. He flails wildly in protest, but his eyes roll up into his skull and goes limp after losing air. "Good thinking, Peterson." Severus compliments then helps drag the Imperials into the elevator after using the Force to strip the souls from their bodies. It takes a long, tense minute but they eventually put on the finishing touches to their disguise. Max is wearing the officer's uniform and through an ID chip, learns that the officer was Sergeant Ringo Pepper. His companions manage to fit themselves into the thick black Imperial Army armor, to which Yang would not stop complaining as to how tight it is, and leave the bodies inside the elevator while they leave and continue the patrol.

This is also a restricted area since they are the only ones here for the moment. But that changes when a clean-shaven man with hair whiter than Weiss's somehow cleanly cut and pulled back, cold grey eyes hidden behind black square glasses and wearing a grey suit with black pants walks down the corridor while arguing with a woman of similar age and skin tone but having shoulder-length and frizzy brown hair, aged brown eyes, and wearing a white suit adorned with many badges on the left breast, and white pants. "I'm telling you; things are not going as smoothly as you seem to be thinking." The woman is saying but notices the group and starts speaking in a quieter manner so they don't overhear, which fails in epic fashion.

The man also takes notice and looks at them for a moment before resuming the talk. "And why not?"

"Director, look at our girl for instance. Luna is starting to become distrustful and won't talk with either of us. She's under the impression that someone was telling you what to do at one point."

The director simply chuckles darkly. "She wants to be a detective, Grand Admiral. It's in her nature to look into all angles and treat everything as a conspiracy."

"That's what I thought at first; but when I last talked with her, she showed me a whole list of your orders over the last 15 years, and they have changed drastically in that time. Some of the soldiers are starting to come to similar conclusions, and voicing dissent."

The director waves off the Grand Admiral's concern. "If things go as planned, we won't have to worry about it much longer." With that, they become too far away to hear anything they say.

"Interesting." Severus mutters under his breath while they continue walking along the corridor before arriving at one portion of the wall. "Hang on. There's something I need to see." He then presses a hand against the wall, and instantly, what seems to be shades dissipates and an entire docking bay unveils itself to them. Max and Yang stare in awe at the dozen black-armored mechs, each shaped like a different beast.

All of them seem to be of an avian design, some like moths, some like the T-Rodan Sander fought only bigger and having designs resembling fish, one is a three-headed dragon, but the one that stands out is a two-legged monster that stands taller than the others easily, possibly 50 feet tall with optics dulled and long arms and long tail sticking out behind it. Its mouth is open and engineers are inside the mouth modifying what seems to be a missile port.

While Max and Yang are awe of them, Severus is terrified. "Drakon, you're really going through with this."

They look to the disguised man with concern. "What?"

"Those Thanatos weapons are being loaded with London-class oxygen lighters. They are bombs that ignite the oxygen in the atmosphere with magical fire. I forbade their design as only the Thanatos weapons' stability make them the only ground weapons that can use the ammunition and that for habitable planets, tests have proven that the fire would form a chain reaction that ignites all the oxygen on a planet. Drakon knew it, and pushed me out of the way so his plan can happen, the plan to incinerate all habitable planets and taking the rest for himself. We have to hurry before they're launched."

"We need our weapons first, then we can take them on." Yang states, looking to the elderly clone with determination. With the potential of their Beamspace drives, they have a very real chance of finding her home and destroying it. Only over her dead body will that happen.

"Agreed. This is our fight just as much as it's yours." Max adds with determination, thinking of Remnant as well as Cybertron being at risk.

Severus nods to them. "Thank you. Now, let's move." Max nods then leads the trio through the docking bay. "Since this place is about to launch Drakon's outrageous plan, it's going to be bustling with troops, so we'll need to take the long way to the barracks. That's where all prisoner possessions are held." But as they turn around to try and go back the way they came, they see another patrol of troops coming towards them. Max gestures for them all to continue forward and they do so before reaching an emergency exit. Max pushes the door open, leading Severus and Yang through before shutting the door, and climbing up the long flight of stairs to the next level.

They reach the next level and reach a docking bay which is occupied by the transport sitting on a platform sticking up three feet from the rest and filled with dozens of people maintaining the ship and building others. "Something's not right." Max whispers, his instincts buzzing in his head.

"No, there isn't. Come on, we'll look bad hanging out here for long." Yang whispers back while fidgeting with her armor.

The trio then stand tall and continue their trek through this docking bay towards the next one, which is through another door. But Severus looks down and notices that several of the engineers are giving them sideways looks. They reach the tunnel which they use to lead them to the main body of the Star Forge II. The doors open to the mess hall, but what lays on the other side leaves them somewhat surprised.

"That's far enough." Grand Admiral Granger states, standing in front of a hundred Imperial soldiers of all class; army, navy, pilots, you name it. They all hold out their weapons and are ready to fight. "I would normally have complimented you for making it this far without being caught, but that would be generous. The director recognized you, Max Peterson, as members of the Rebel Alliance, prisoners on this station, and herded you to this point. Do you anything you wish to say before you die?"

Severus lets out a sigh and steps forward, pulling off his helmet to show his aging face. "It was Draco Malfoy who recognized Max as a member of the Rebel Alliance, didn't he? That man was always one of the most rational men I knew, once you got past his lunacy."

Several of the troops look at each other in confusion while Granger holds up a hand. "Explain."

The older man remains stoic, but answers in return. "I found your director's collection of mechanical beasts. While impressive, it is equally horrifying to know that they are being equipped with launchers to handle oxygen lighters." Some of the engineers in the crowd gasp in shock at that while others look unsurprised. "I assume that there are some engineers who worked on those weapons before they were outlawed."

Granger's hard face continues staring at Severus, but now there is curiosity there as well. "You seem to know more about what's going on here that beats me. Who are you?"

Severus lets out a long sigh. "I have always sucked at naming anything, so I'll be glad to be rid of my fake name. I am your old boss; I am Harrison Peverell."

Silence reigns in the mess hall as everyone looks at each other in confusion. Granger too is at a loss of words; of all the statements she was making, that one is more brazen than expected. She swallows then looks at him. "If you are truly the Emperor, then explain to me what you did to make our old war machine, Tiel, work after months of our best scientists couldn't figure it out? Even now, we don't have the means to make our weapons quite like Tiel."

Harrison looks at Granger then the other inquisitive engineers too. He clenches his fists then lets them go. "I will tell everyone everything now. Have you heard of Horcruxes before, Hermione?" Judging by the horrified look on her face, she knows what they are. "To those who are wondering what that is, through rather a painful process, I split my soul in half. It took lots of research but while the fuel to work Tiel was working, the AI to operate it wasn't advanced enough so I put a piece of myself into Tiel so it could work to human levels of intelligence. And what no one else but your precious director knows is that I made a second Horcrux, that being the AI that powers this very station we're standing on once it was built. I gave him directions, I told him how best to conquer the galaxy and hold it, but he wanted to do things his way and conquer it by burning entire systems to their core. Five years ago, a test run for his Science Department was conducted involving Celerage, a deadly virus that ages its host the more they exert themselves mentally. The director deliberately tested the virus on a clone of my body made from my remains and ripped my brain from the station, forcing me into this body. So now you know why I am here and helping the rebels and end this war; it's gone on long enough. Everyone here hasn't seen their families in 15 years in order to fight a pointless war. Dig deep down, is this how any of you want to die?"

By the time Harrison finished talking, the soldiers are looking down at the ground in thought, some look too rattled to say anything at all, and others start slowly lowering their weapons. Granger, on the other hand, stares at Harrison yet finds no deception from him; in fact, the air round him reminds her greatly of when the emperor was around 15 years ago. "Men! Stand down now!" A few soldiers look disbelieving at the orders, but everyone complies in the end. Granger walks forward and stares at her old leader with an imperious look. "We are going to the Imperial Science Department. We will know soon whether or not you're telling us the truth soon."

Harrison nods in consent, but as the two stroll towards a separate corridor on the right, the door in front of them slams shut. One by one, the doors leading to the mess hall start to slam closed until everyone is trapped inside. "You had to flap your mouth, didn't you, Peverell?" Director Drakon's voice blares over the loudspeakers, his usually clam voice replaced with one of cold fury. "You couldn't leave me alone? Your plan would have taken years to achieve and by that time, most of our men would have been killed or fled to return home. Our people are starting to lose hope for this fight, but you were too blind to see the truth so now you're conspiring against us just to destroy me. I'm sorry, but all of you have fallen under the power of this child murderer so I'll have to eliminate everyone there to save the station. It was an honor serving with you." The speakers then cut off then the room falls back into silence.

Then everything falls to chaos as everyone starts scrambling to the doors and banging them while begging to be released. "Quiet! Quiet! I said, quiet!" the Grand Admiral is shouting at the top of her lungs but is barely audible over the noise. But Harrison simply sighs in annoyance and channels the Force into his stomp, which echoes throughout the room. Everyone shuts up instantly and turns towards their former emperor. He then gestures to Granger who looks slightly taken aback at the action but lets it go. "We can't take on the director if we don't have a plan. Manuel."

"Here!" One engineer cries out in the audience, raising his hand.

"Do you have any power tools on you?"

"Uh, let's see…. Where are you, my sweet, succulent… ah, there you are. Yes, I have my trusty plasma cutter on me."

"Good. You and your assistants will be cutting a square hole in the door leading to the East Hall." She then points towards the door directly opposite from where Max, Harrison, and Yang entered. "Sergeant Dursley." A rather large man wearing Imperial Army armor steps forward, his flat gas mask covering his face staring down at the Grand Admiral a bit too much for her taste. "Take two squads with you, along with our new guests, and make your way to the barracks. You'll need more firepower if you wish to capture the Imperial Science Department. Everyone else, with me, and we'll take the docking bays and try disabling the Thanatos mechs. Good. Godspeed, everyone."

The troops cheer loudly at that and begin to carry out their tasks. Manuel and the engineers get out their plasma cutters and begin work on cutting out a rectangle in the emergency shutters big enough for a person to walk through without problem.

* * *

"Damn!" Director Drakon exclaims in rage upon watching the engineers cutting through the shutters with slight difficulty. He had hoped that the hastiness of his tipping off the Grand Admiral of intruders would cause empty-headed idiots like the engineers to leave something important behind, but it wasn't so. Just when he was finally free to do something right of his own will, Drakon's old boss just had to lift the curtains on the director's plans to end their war swiftly and effectively, and ruin everything by turning many of his own soldiers against him.

He sits behind his metal desk in his office at the top level of the Star Forge II while letting breathing in and out deeply to calm his nerves. He then presses a button to reach one of the Generals still unaware of the slight. "Sound the alarm, we have a mutiny on deck from all the soldiers contained in the Mess Hall. Suppress them."

"Yes, Director." Drakon lets out a sigh, then cuts the transmission.

"I guess it's time to speed my plan up further." He stands up and presses a button underneath the desk. Walking to the wall behind the desk, he pushes the secret door open to reveal a very private wing of the Star Forge II's Imperial Science Department. Everything in here involves the Director's personal projects that no one else needs to know about, not even his former emperor, wife or daughter who is safely residing on Gaia at the secret group of his sympathizers. These devices range from a device to forcefully transfer an AI anywhere he wishes, the Celerage virus, or his secret weapon he wishes to use now. Making his way through the tubes filled with his possessions, he reaches a large black sphere about 20 feet tall with tubes sticking out of the top. "Ozzy? Can you hear me?" Drakon asks gently, tapping the sphere.

"Yes?" The emotionless voice comes from inside the safe haven.

"Can you open the door? We need to talk." A moment passes before the sphere slides apart shred by shred to reveal a boy of 18 years with snow white hair and icy green eyes and the rest of the body covered with a silver scale-like body, suspended in the air by large and thick wires as they pump blood in and out of the boy's body. Drakon flashes back to four years ago, when Oswald was not only human but the best duelist under Drakon's thumb. He had been carrying out a raid of the Empire while they were supposedly busy dealing with rebels on Onderon when suddenly, Darth Vader showed up. Oswald fought him with everything he had, but Vader was just too experienced. He killed the entire crew and ripped Oswald, mistaken for a surviving Jedi, apart and destroying his entire respiratory system. Frankly, it was a miracle that he was even alive at all to tell the tale and be rebuilt as a cyborg, making him tougher and stronger than before.

The emperor's son then drops from his suspension to the ground in what he calls the superhero landing, the wires drying up then pulling themselves away from him. "I'm sorry for taking a bit, I was finishing a chapter in _Five Weeks in a Balloon._ What is happening?" Oswald asks as he stands up and rips the final tube out from the base of his skull.

"A classless rogue claiming to be your father has turned a hundred of our troops against us; the Rebel Alliance is backing him, since the Powerhouse and the Golden Warrior are here as well." Drakon replies curtly.

Silence reigns as Oswald stretches his cybernetic body. "Shall I greet our guests?"

Drakon shakes his head. "You're going to Docking Bay level 1 and ensure Operation: INFERNO happens. I will buy you all the time you need. Now go."

Oswald looks at him curiously before nodding in compliance. "You can count on me." He then makes his way through the office and towards the private elevator which takes him down to the lower levels. Drakon sits back down behind his desk and sighs in slight relief.

"For all his courage, he is still foolish." He then presses a button to summon Draco, the new AI running the Star Forge II made using the director's brain waves. "Draco, give me eyes on the station."

"Sure. Pulling it up now." The automated voice complies and, on his desk, every security camera lights up to give him full view.

* * *

"Come on! Why's it staying in place?" One of the engineers complains over the blaring alarms that just started a moment before. They had finished making the shape in the shut blast doors, but it still wouldn't fall out.

Yang sighs in annoyance. "It will. You just need to give it a little 'oomph'!"

"She's right." Dursley adds before walking towards the door and pushing with all his might. The metal, sure enough, bends to his strength and falls to the ground. One by one, the team slips through the other side to the long corridors. "Alright, team. Follow me." But before they can go on, Harrison grabs his arm.

"No. I need help finding the entrance to the director's office. If we can stop him from coordinating whatever is in store for all of us, then we stand a chance against them. I would do it myself, but, curse this body, I am too weak to fight anymore."

Dursley and Harrison stare each other down before Dursley nods. "Right. I will help you in that front. Temple, you keep the squad safe and get these two their weapons back."

Temple snorts. "I outrank you, douchebag, so you have no authority to tell me what to do. But I will grab those turtles once they poke their heads out and chop their heads the fuck off!"

Once that was done, Dursley and Harrison take the corridor on the left while everyone else takes the channel on the right. They reach a large group of Imperials loyal to the Director who fire at them, but the others fire back and in a short skirmish, the opposing troops fall dead. Left, right, left, on and on they travel past troop barracks before reaching the staircase leading to the barracks. While the AI now controlling the station doesn't exactly make it easy for them, Temple's quick temper and Yang's brute strength allow them to make it as far as they have; besides, the staircase was made in the event of the AI failing so that couldn't be messed with anyways.

After dealing with another group of troops, they reach the entire floor dedicated to the barracks and open the door. Max and Yang were expecting messy pile after messy pile of weapons, but it was very surprisingly organized with personal weaponry stashed in cylinder-shaped safety boxes and in the middle are several devices used for polishing weapons and neatly piled mountains of ammunition. "Grab whatever you can and then beat it like a roadrunner!" The troops start going for their weapons from the cells and start going for the ammo.

Temple then leads Max and Yang to a series of cells contained on a rotating rack before gesturing to Surge. He then activates his plasma blaster and sends out a shotgun-like energy blast to the door, melting it completely. Temple steps through and pulls out two cells and throws them to Max and Yang. "Be quick about it." Max opens his cell and helps Yang with hers, and he puts on his red armor over the jumpsuit and strapping the swords to his sides. Yang shakily slips Ember Celica onto her wrists.

"You're no good with no shaking hands." Cronut calls out upon noticing the hands. "Besides, you look more like a zombie now than a super-model. You need a makeover."

"Shut your festering hive, Cronut. You're not helping." Temple shouts.

"No, no, I know how she can get better. I can take them to the back entrance of the labs and get her those sweet new robot hands. That way, she can give all those unfortunate souls the handjobs they deserve."

Temple, for once, shuts up and ponders this option. "Fine. I'll cause a distraction, but you better be right about this." Just then, a massive explosion is heard and the station shakes slightly. "Oh, come on! Can't those fuckers do everything right?" As Buckey's about to open his mouth, Temple notices. "And you! Your innuendos don't help anyone, so zip it!"

But Yang remains frozen in place. The Force has always felt wrong to her since arriving on this station, but now, it seems to be actively avoiding a certain point in one of the docking bays. She recognizes that void well, and hopes that Sander really does have a plan. "Let's go."

"Oh, yay!" He shouts enthusiastically while bouncing in the air, then gestures for Max and Yang to follow him out the door, and they do so.

"So, sir…" Max starts.

"Call me Cronut."

"I refuse to do so. How do you know of any backways into the labs?"

The pink-haired Navy trooper giggles. "Because I enjoy making gloryholes into the lab so I can see what wicked power they can whip out. And boy, have they made some kinky stuff there."

He then leads them through the hall before reaching a nearby bathroom before slamming the door shut. An unfortunate soldier outside of armor steps out of the bathroom and looks at the trio with wide eyes, but Max knocks him out before he can do anything. Cronut then pulls the grate resting next to the sink open. "Come on. This is the only place where the director can't see us. At least, no one's done anything about it yet."

"Just hurry up!" Yang nearly shouts, clearly anxious.

"Okay, okay." Cronut then gets down onto all fours and crawls through the hatch. Yang goes next and while Max struggles a bit to fit in, he also manages to slip through. "This way. He then hurriedly crawls through the tunnel and to the other side in a maze of ventilation, having to push harder than usual to make progress due to the steady current of air. The group reaches a section of the vent traveling up, obviously to another level, and Cronut pushes a button hidden in an emergency box built into the vent, and an emergency ladder sticks out from the vent walls.

Yang simply stares in complete bafflement at the nonsensical structure of the station, but continues following the pink-haired man before he suddenly stops at one particular grate. "We're here." Max then crawls up to Cronut and looks through the vent to see several scientists wearing thick gloves with skin-tight body suits and working on one particular project; maintaining a naked man inside one of the tubes filled with green fluid, black hair flowing around him and an air mask resting against his mouth. "That cockbite again. You know, Arin Jones may be really good at handling his tools, but he has a real God complex."

Max sighs silently, already annoyed by Cronut's innuendos. But as he looks closer, the more he realizes that Jones's face looks familiar. "Come on, move over. I'm not stopping to be cautious anymore." Yang states, pushing her way through then punching the grate off the hinge. It knocks a stunned scientist off her feet, and Yang rolls out, punching the scientists one by one and knocking them out. But as she's about to hit the last scientist, a scrawny woman with chest-length brown hair and brown eyes, gets onto her knees.

"Please don't hurt me. I'm only doing a job." She begs while holding her hands up.

Yang stares down at her new prisoner with Cronut and Max crawling out and looking around in awe as to how much destruction one person can cause. She contemplates what to do with her, but then an idea comes to mind and she smirks. "I'll let you go. But first, I need you to replace my hands. Both of them. Can you do that for me…" She then notices her nametag, "Khaleesi?"

Khaleesi notices her hands then rapidly nods her head in agreement. "Follow me." She then leads Yang towards one of the stands, where a pair of beautiful golden colored hands with golden stones for the knuckles are sitting on a pedestal, shaped exactly like human hands but with an almost retro feeling to them. "Out of all the components of the body, human hands are the most complex part of the body to work properly. Dr. Aiyanna was such a genius in terms of finding realistic ways to bring what was once called science fiction to life, like these prototype hands; but we lost her to a plague outbreak on Tatooine. But maybe it was for the better that she died, so she wouldn't see what the director is planning… oh, I'm sorry, I talk when I'm nervous. Please put your hands here." Yang glares at the doctor in suspicion, but she takes off Ember Celica and sets it aside before slipping her hand through the two holes in the glass box. "Now, hold your breath. I am told that this process is going to hurt." Yang figured this was going to happen and this, held her breath as a small white appendage slips out from the bottom of the box, then the red laser beam raises itself up and slices Yang's hands off completely. The blonde huntress clenches her eyes shut at the pain, but the simultaneous cauterization of her hands keeps her from bleeding out. "Well, now the painful part's done. Let's get to work." She then manipulates a new appendage to pinch the right hand and lift it up and slip it onto Yang's right stump. The laser appendage then cauterizes the skin again to fuse the hand onto her flesh. It proceeds to attach the other hand on before both appendages recede to where they came from. "Well?"

Yang stares down at the hands as she tries to make her right hand make a thumbs up but all she does is make a fist. After some abnormal and eccentric movements, her need to concentrate on controlling the hands becomes less and less. After a minute of testing, she pulls her arms out and stares at her golden hands in amazement, willing to flex them up and down, and the hands complying just like her natural hands did, if not better. "This is absolutely…" As she admires her hands, she feels the Force void rapidly approaching. How did she get here so fast or kill the Imperials so quickly? "Get down!"

But it's too late. The main doors to the Imperial Science Department burst open and the door rockets towards Khaleesi, killing her by crushing her between the flying door and the nearby wall. Salem strolls into the laboratory, looking all around with slight scorn. "Oh, Yang. Come now, did you really think I'd not sense you? Sander's infatuation to you made finding you like a hound hunting its prey. And once you're dead, Sander will forever be gone. I know I'm obsessed with you rather than carrying out my mission, but really, we all go a little mad sometimes, don't we?"

Salem is so obsessed with finding Yang that she either fails to notice Max and Cronut hiding behind one of the desks holding vials of the Cerelage virus, or she doesn't care. Yang, in pure desperation, looks around for anything that can help. She may have the Force and is very confident, maybe even arrogant in what she can do, but she holds no illusions of defeating Salem. This woman seems to be much older than Yang, has experience in turning the most zealous haters such as the White Fang to her cause, whatever semblance is at her disposal, and has proven to be a master martial artist who relies on instinct and learning rather than a single style. No, Yang needs Sander's help as he has a better understanding of how to defeat her than anyone else alive. Then, her eyes fall onto the suspended body of Arin Jones and an idea comes to mind. "You want me?" Yang calls out, making Salem's head jerk towards Yang, who stands up from her hiding place. "Here I am."

Salem's eyes flash dangerously. "Hello, my dear. I hope you had a dun time alive, since it's now time to die."

"Oh, no, it isn't, evil witch-man!" Cronut too stands up from his hiding place, but Salem rotates one of her hands, and from the ceiling emerges an Alpha Beowulf, who promptly leaves a deep gash on Cronut's face, who screaks about his Freddie Mercury-like makeup getting ruined.

Yang takes advantage of the distraction for her to attack Salem. She notices and lifts one arm up in defense, which blocks one punch but the other hits her in the stomach. Salem has some give but remains strong. She then jumps back, leaving Yang no choice but to try and roundhouse kick her. Salem grabs Yang's leg and then proceeds to lift her entire body into the air and smash her against the closest table. She briefly notices Max protecting Cronut as he holds a bandage to his face and killing the Beowulf. With new resolve, Yang uses what little semblance she can use to kick Salem's face over and over but she then holds her other hand straight then strikes the place where the main body meets the arm. It suddenly feels numb but Yang won't give up; she grabs a nearby burner and slams it into her captor's arm and activates the burner.

Salem groans slightly and loosens her grip slightly, just enough for Yang to pull free and roll back onto her feet. Salem then holds up both hands and they start glowing with a black fog around each with lightning crackling inside. "You can't win, Yang. I am not a queen of darkness, or a monster. I'm the last user of magic alive in this forsaken universe. Tell me, what you do have against me?" The lightning then starts circulating around her entire body and the confident yet wary look forms on her face.

Yang, on the other hand, feigns confidence by forming a smirk. "I have your son on my side. He too has magic and he's almost as stubborn as I am. So, let's have a head-splitting good time."

Salem sends a bolt of black lightning at Yang but before she can send another while Yang's down, her head pulses violently. Her eyes widen, and she remains frozen on the spot. "Get out of my head, Sander. You're no match for me." Salem then lets out an ungodly screech as a thin silvery aura seems to surface around her. Yang decides to take advantage of the lapse an pumps the last of her Aura into her punch against Salem's face.

Salem is knocked a yard back and onto her back, but the silvery Aura makes its way towards a different location; Jones's body inside the liquid-filled containment tube. The fog cloud encases the body which struggles back for a moment before going still. Max, having finished off the Beowulf, Salem and Yang stare at the capsule, unsure of what to expect next. Then, the body lifts its head up, panicked eyes gleaming like emeralds, then punches the capsule walls with all his might. Each punch causes a crack to form and get larger before shattering it completely. Green gel-like fluid oozes out all over the floor and the body getting pushed out, getting minor cuts from the broken glass shards flowing with him and he rips off the air mask before it could pull him back.

The body then stands up and realizes that it has no clothes on. While Yang doesn't mind, he blushes deeply and pulls a white robe to him, and wrapping it around himself. He then notices Yang and Max, before smiling at them. "Hey."

The moment is broken by Salem standing up and sending a stream of red energy at Sander, to which he ducks under. "Did you really think you'd escape so easily?"

"No. But they will, you witch." He bites back, then reaches for a loaded sheath next to the capsule and pulls out a 4-feet long katana.

"Sander?" Max asks uncertainly.

He gives them a sideways glance but keeps his focus on Salem. "Trust me. Run."

Without hesitating any longer, with Cronut stopping the bleeding on his face and it healing up to show a large jagged scar on his face and following behind. "Wait for me!"

The group then leaves the Department and running out the main door, only to be greeted with dozens of Beowulves feasting upon the corpses of Imperial troops. One particular soldier, Temple, is fighting off an Ursa Major with his trusty combat knife and manages to stab it in the chinks of its armor, but it knocks him down from the force of the strike and is about to finish him off when Max charges forward and pulls the knife out before slashing it overhead, slitting its throat deep enough for the Grimm to drop to the side and slowly dissolve into ashes. "What the fuck was that?" Temple shouts while trying to catch his breath from how close he came to dying.

"Something very dangerous." Max replies, then hoisting Temple back onto his feet.

Temple then notices Cronut, and groans. "Of all the snot-nosed punks to survive, why did it have to be you?"

"Oh, I'm so happy to see you okay, too!" With that exchange done, they start making their way towards the nearest stairs to make it to the Thanatos bay, but an explosion goes off and the elevator where they are standing at starts falling all the way to the bottom.

"Perfect." Yang states smugly, then leaps through the hole while grabbing the jagged wall on the other side, and then lowering herself down.

"She seems awesome!" Cronut then follows suit, with Max following behind and a very agitated Temple doing the same. They make their way down the shaft for what seems to be hours before reaching a seemingly random spot. Yang, taking the initiative, lunges forward and smashes through the wall like it was made of wet cardboard, and she lands directly on the level where the Thanatos mechs are being held. But she looks around and blushes slightly.

"Uh, where do we go for the station again?"

"This way." Max replies, having a better memory of the layout of the station. They follow him to the right and travel down the corridor before reaching a rather large and burly man.

"I got hostiles inbound!" The man shouts while firing a shotgun at Max, whose Aura takes the brunt of the attack but is knocked back slightly. Yang tries to fire at him, but then Ember Celica clicks. Of all the times to be out of ammunition. Fortunately, Temple pushes her down and fires his sniper rifle. It hits the man's knee, making him shout in pain and fall down. Cronut then pulls out a grenade and thrusts it, hitting the man in the forehead and making him explode.

The group progresses forward before reaching another secret door that no one noticed before, and another pilot tries to slam the door shut behind them, but Temple manages to shoot her hand. Said pilot lets out a shout of pain and continues on, leaving the door open ajar. "Wow. You sure do enjoy giving people a hand."

He grumbles in annoyance as they move through the door and down a metal staircase. Yang looks down and another band of pilots, wearing grey body suits of similar to the scientists but with thicker padding for more comfort. "After them!" Max shouts, jumping from one staircase to the other in an effort to keep up. He kicks the wounded pilot to the side, knocking her out. After grabbing her pistol, he charges down the staircase once more before reaching the bottom and bringing the door open. To his shock and slight horror, most of the docking bay is already empty with one giant eagle-like mech being encased in a glass box then falling from the floor before it falls through the floor. They are already too late.

The last three pilots are making their way towards the second-largest mech closest to them that is all black with silver streaks and is a dragon with three heads resting on the ground. They try firing back with pistols but Max fires back. These pilots dodge to the sides and start firing back as the rest of Max's crew arrive at the bottom.

"Enough!" A booming voice makes everyone stop fighting and look to the source, who is a boy with white hair, green eyes, and is wearing a grey bodysuit. This boy is currently sitting inside an open seat inside Thanatos Infinity's brain. "My people have suffered enough. If you wish to keep on killing them, then you'll have to get through me. The hard way." The top slams down and locks in place, and Thanatos Infinity stands up in all its glory. It glares at them with orange optics.

"What in Oum's name is that thing?" Yang asks hesitantly, looking up at it with slight fear but willing to fight it regardless.

T-Infinity then lifts forward its arms and out springs a plasma weapon that fires a large burst of blue plasma at Max. He dodges to the side barely, but takes notice of the molten metal next to him. Cronut throws another grenade at T-Infinity, but it swats the grenade aside which explodes in the wall, before resuming fire of the plasma launcher. After the fourth shot, it prepares for a fifth, but a rocket comes from out of the blue and hits the plasma launcher, making the weapon recoil slightly. It groans in protest and staggers slightly, trying to let out the steam.

Everyone looks up to see Sander standing overhead, holding a rocket launcher. "How did you escape Salem? And Since when did you know how to use a rocket launcher?"

"I put her into a containment circle, so who knows how long we have. And I don't how to use this fucking thing! But this body sure knows how to. Yang, give it hell. Max, try to get distracted. Go!"

"Oh, taking the saddle. I like his style!" Cronut exclaims, and while Temple groans at yet another innuendo, he couldn't disagree with the sentiment. T-Infinity fires once more with the plasma launcher, something, Max and Sander question, but the latter then notices a flash of movement next to him, but he fails to get out of the way when a bolt of raw electricity hits him dead on. The group then realize that the three-headed mech starts awakening, but only its heads are moving, and each one is glaring at them with as much emotion they can muster, and that's pure rage.

"We'll handle these assholes! You take the bug guy." Temple states confidently, holding his sniper with Cronut standing nervously at his side.

With the sides chosen, the chaos officially begins. Sander fires his rocket launcher at T-Infinity which put up the plasma launcher and is now resorting to its missile stash on its shoulders to keep Max at bay, but Sander manages to keep it at a decent rate with firing his own rockets and keeping a steady supply of missiles using spare ammunition found on the rack up top. Yang takes advantage of the fight and Max's willingness to keep the missiles firing, all the while damaging the bay more and more, and punches the ever-living hell out of a chink in the armor to try and break it, but with her reduced strength and lack of ammunition, it's not exactly going well. Temple and Cronut are having little luck themselves trying to take down the electricity-spewing hydra dragon. "Try going for the main body. That has to be where all the electricity is being generated."

"Okay!" They dodge another group of lightning beams and in midair, throws what seems to be a special grenade at the body. Fortunately, it was an EMP bomb, and despite not shutting it down, it certainly screwed with some systems. The heads flail around in all directions, knocking the two Imperials aside.

Sander looks at the sight with a grim look. Everyone is too tired to do much against these machines of death, and it's showing. He starts considering busting out more magic powers, he feels the familiar cold presence of the woman he just escaped from. She broke his containment seal faster than he thought. "Duck and cover!" He then falls to the floor as a large black mass flies over him and lands next to a crater that the plasma launcher's blast, and Salem steps out and looking enraged.

"I don't care anymore. You will all die here." She then claps her hands together and the mass pours from her hands, enlarging more and more before it dissipates and the Leviathan Grimm reveals itself, an Alpha no less. It roars in challenge before taking on T-Infinity in a battle of strength. She sidesteps a swiping head of the dragon and her eyes glow. While no one is really sure, but they could have sworn they heard screams inside as the heads collapse to the bottom and go still.

"Idea." Temple mutters, getting himself back onto his feet despite the pain in his body, and makes his way to the closest collapsed head.

Sander glares at Salem who starts summoning Beowulves and other Grimm types to take out everyone in the room, but Sander lets out a battle cry and fires his rocket launcher. Salem uses her magic to save herself from the rocket blast, but Sander uses it to pull out his new sword and leaps off the edge, hoping to leave a gash in Salem.

However, what his blade is frozen in place, and when the smoke dissipates, Salem is holding the blade in place, although blood is welling up in the palm and dripping to the ground. "Not bad. But I wouldn't expect anything less from you." He then lets go of the blade and tries to sucker-punch her, but Salem throws the blade aside and blocks the attack with one arm and uses the other to push him back. While the intention was knocking him down, he simply staggers for a moment before regaining composure. He then uses the Force to pull the sword to his hand, then uses his semblance to encase the entire sword in fire, then holds it overhead similar to what little he remembers of the Soresu style. "Bring it on."

Max, exhausted from dodging ammunition and trying to occasionally hack apart T-Infinity's armor with little success, looks at the carnage happening all around him, and realizes that they have lost. He sees his closest friend duking it out with the witch and while he's holding her off, he can't last forever, Yang was kicked aside by T-Infinity and resting against the wall, panting heavily while the mech fights its hardest against the Alpha Leviathan Grimm, with the two neck in neck. Finally, Temple and Cronut are pushing and kicking the side of the dragon's head to try and get inside. For some reason, his hand drifts towards the golden sphere given to him by Drivetrain. His words echo in his ears, **'It is said that if you ever find yourself in trouble, just grip this and ask Primus for help in your darkest hour…'**

He grips the sphere, and warm energy seems to course through his body, and a mass of voices he doesn't recognize whisper in his ear. They tell him many things that could either be compliments or obscenities, but those voices were impossible to discern. Yet slowly, the voices roll together before it comes to crisp clarity in his mind. **"Speak the name of our brother, and The Last Autobot shall come to your aid."**

Like a truck slamming into him, Max realizes that they now stand a chance against their enemies, and in a second he knows the name to call. Just then, T-Infinity fights off the Alpha Leviathan and bites it sneck, ripping some of its flesh off. It sends blasts from its plasma launcher to ultimately kill the Alpha Grimm and make it dissipate back into dark ashes. As it notices Max and the pods lift up and prepare to fire its last missile, Max shouts, "Autonomus Prime!"

Silence reigns in the docking bay and everyone stares at him like he's a nutcase. Though that ends soon, as the sphere shatters and the very Force around them seems to shift the ashes toward a certain spot in the middle of the bay; a massive flash of light suddenly appears in front of everyone. When the light dies, a new entity is standing in the middle of the docking bay. It is a massive cybertronian at least as tall as T-Infinity with blue and gold armor, and a face that looks exactly like the symbol of the Autobots. It looks down at Max and looks at him with an unyielding yet friendly expression. "I have slumbered for eons, I have waited to heed the call of a son of Cybertron, when it can no longer look after its children. What does he wish of me?"

Salem simply stares up at the entity with pure rage, ignoring Sander whose standing next to her. "Fight me!" She then summons balls of purple fire to her hands and sends torrents to flames to Autonomous Prime's face. He stares down at her with an apathetic look.

"Please. Save my friends." The Prime stares at him, with a strange feeling filling Max's senses, before nodding. Salem then flies into the air and summons a sword made of electricity encased in ice before throwing it at the Prime, sending enough electricity through him to sputter an entire planet, but the Prime ignores the attack and grabs her.

"Your vanity makes you unworthy of your immortality." With that, the Prime throws her out of the docking bay and into space. A slight vacuum starts pulling everyone back, but the Star Forge II's self-preservation kicks in and emergency shutters pull themselves into place and cut it off. T-Infinity then unleashes its missiles and plasma projectiles in an effort to fight back, but the Prime ignores the assault and grabs the mech by the neck and crushes it with ease. Smoke rises from the neck, and it collapses to the ground. The top pulls off and Oswald crawls out, blood spilling everywhere from him being plugged in so deeply. He pulls out a pistol and fires twice at the Prime's face to try and stop him, but he lets out a loud moan and collapses, blood welling up from the wounds ripped open in his body. The Prime then looks back to Max with a determined look. "I have been brought back to life, so now I can be of service to the descendants of Primus. Ask me what you wish to me to do, anything, and I shall comply one last time."

Max looks up at the Prime with respect, remembering the stories of the Primes and how they could perform anything that no one else can possible achieve, even giving life to the dead… It takes a moment, but suddenly, the solution to the biggest mystery of Max's life unveils itself to him and he almost falls over in shock. He then looks up at the Prime, and his face hardens, knowing what he has to do. "Thank you for your help, Autonomous Prime. All I ask of you now is to travel back to the _Dying Star_ , and give Pisces Maximus a new life on a new world."

While most are absolutely confused by what they just heard, Sander and the Prime understand what he's implying. Sander looks at his friend with shocked realization while the Prime nods. "I shall do as you ask. Farewell, son of Cybertron." With that, the Prime starts glowing brightly then as soon as he appeared, he vanishes.

"Okay, what the fuck? Who put meth into the water here?" Temple shouts before raising his hands. "You know what? Fuck it, I don't want to know. I'll just forget what I saw and never talk about it."

Yang shakily stands up, holding her side. "Speaking of forgetting, what are we going to do about the other Thanatos mechs?"

"Oh, don't you worry your heiny about that." Cronut states, walking forward. "I was put of the fueling crew for these badass Gundam rip-offs, probably because listens to me. Anyway, because of how much room is needed to hold the source of their weapons, I know that these bad boys only have enough fuel to last 24 hours. At best, they can incinerate two star systems before running out of fuel before needing to return to base. Then, if we succeed, they'll just float aimlessly in space."

The rebels from Remnant look at each other with slight concern at the fate these pilots will have in store. "But that means those systems in range will be burnt. Millions will die!" Yang shouts, not believing they will just stand aside and let innocents die.

"That's war, bitch. Sometimes, we need to lose in one way in order to win the greater battle." Temple states, giving them uncertain looks.

Before anyone can figure where to go, from here, a shrill alarm resembling the one used for the Blitz starts blaring. "Attention, attention. The self-destruct mechanism has been activated. T-minus five minutes."

"Aw, what the fuck? This is like a cheesy fanfiction at this point." Temple grumbles before Cronut starts crawling to the top of the machine. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"We all need to leave together." Cronut states. "Thanatos Ghidorah needs five pilots; a traveling pilot with a backup, and three pilots to monitor the heads so its full potential can be used."

"I suppose we don't have time to try any other method of escaping." Temple then follows Cronut to the main body while the latter finds the hatch and lets both of them inside.

The three rebels from Remnant make their way to the three heads, and after a minute, find the hatch, pull the mutilated bodies out, and get themselves seated. T-Ghidorah brings itself to life and numerous stat signs pull up in front of them. "Is everyone set?" Cronut asks before doing whatever he needs to do to bring the mech to life. On Sander's end, a transmission comes into his end, and finding a convincing red switch, pushes it forward, and a screen flashes in front of him to show the former emperor looking at him.

"Hello there, Jones. I see that you're leaving with some friends. I shall unlock the docking bays manually so everyone can leave."

"What of you, sir?" Sander asks.

Harrison looks more aged than ever before, almost resembling a mummy now. "My body possesses the AI of the super-station, the last remnant of myself. Once this body does, I die for good. And I've lived long enough to regret much of my life. I wish to finally pay the price and see my family again. But everyone who now knows the truth, Granger will take them home and end everything. Jones, you may be a product of my mistakes, but please live on and not make the mistakes I once did. Goodbye." The transmission cuts off and silence reigns. Sander simply stares in shock at the sight, leaning back in his chair and contemplating the last words of his nemesis. For some reason, Sander feels something for him he never felt before; respect.

"Alright! Let's blow this joint!" Temple's annoying voice cuts through Sander's thoughts, before the glass box slips down around them, and then a massive jolt like the downward slide of a roller coaster.

T-Ghidorah then falls through space, and Sander through much trial and error using the joystick in front of him, manipulates the head to look around. Suddenly, a pair of wings sprout from the underbelly on either side and they start flying forward. "Activating Beamspace in 1, 2, 3!" T-Ghidorah rockets forward with the tail being used as the propulsion engine before entering Beamspace, at the same time as hundreds of transports fleeing in either direction heading either for Gaia or sympathizers heading back to headquarters. Some ships fail to escapes before the Star Forge II becomes a ball of orange flames, seemingly shaking space itself.

The explosion of the base sends out a huge shockwave of Force energy, making Sander clutch his head in pain as they make their way towards the snowy-looking world. "What the hell is going on with ya'll? Get your head straightened out, we're landing soon." Temple demands, realizing the heads are flailing around all over the place.

As soon as the Beamspace portal closes behind the mech, the pain becomes little more than a numbing sensation for the Force-sensitives. Sander powers through the pain and regains control of his head. "Okay. All good here."

"Same here." Max adds.

"Ditto." Yang, the least experienced in Force use, replies. She seems obviously in pain, but the fact she's lasted this long without passing out is amazing.

The mech is then surrounded by fighters that try and open fire at them, but the lasers merely bounce off the armor. "Come on, slow the fuck down!" Temple and Sander shout into the internal comms simultaneously.

"I'm trying! This is only meant to go one way, and that's forward!" Cronut shouts in response, annoyed by the pressure. The mech then passes through the atmosphere with little trouble, but the planet is much more jagged than he expected. "Uh, which button activates the landing gear?"

Several tense minutes pass as they soar over the planet's surface before the right button is eventually pressed, and the metallic legs start scraping the ground below them before they lurch forward. Luckily, they come to rest at the edge of a cliff overlooking a massive snow-covered forest. Shakily, Sander pushes himself out of his seat and opens the hatch, pushing himself out of the hatch and into the cold atmosphere. "Holy fucking shit!" Sander screams, not expecting the bite he did while only wearing a bathrobe at best. The rest of T-Ghidorah's crew crawl out and while they are better protected, they too look cold. "What do we do now?"

"Those fighters should come looking for us. They'll either take us to shelter or blow us to pieces." Temple replies, cuddling himself up and hiding behind the mech's metal body for some shelter from the wind. Everyone else decides to hide out at the same spot.

"Do you think anyone made it out okay?" Yang asks, cuddling next to Sander for warmth.

"I don't know." He replies honestly, keeping her close.

"If anything, the Hux family ought to have made it out. That plaster-faced family may be incompetent, but they are relentless and those fuckers can slime their way out of a lot." Temple bites back harshly.

A cold chill runs down Sander's spine, and it has nothing to do with the cold. Yang notices and looks at him with concern. "What's wrong?"

He sighs. "For some reason, I feel like we really fucked this galaxy up by keeping them alive in 30 years perhaps."

The five stare at him with confusion. "That's oddly specific."

Before their conversation can go much further, a group of people start making their way towards them. In the cold snowy wind, it's hard to make out who they are, but as they get closer, they show themselves to be familiar faces. "Yang! Max!" Bora Lone shouts in surprise, wearing her usual Mandalorian armor. At her side is Karel, Ezra Bridger, and Sabine Wren. She then notices Sander and looks at him in confusion. "Uh, who are you?"

"I'll explain later. Can we go to a shelter? I'm freezing to death here." Sander replies in annoyance.

"Sure. After you're better, we'll need to leave!" Ezra replies with slight panic in his voice.

"What's happening?" Max asks, wary about the tone.

Ezra then looks at them with an expression that doesn't exactly put the ex-Autobot at ease. "Thrawn's played us. He's attacking Chopper Base as we speak."

* * *

 _AN:_ It's the final countdown!

After working on this story for so long, the fact that I'm almost done with it is almost surreal to me. And I'm going to come clean; I did have to cut about four chapters in order to fill everything in by the end of the summer, but I can give every assurance that all the twists and story elements involved were included in previous chapters, and the ones cut would have had a very strong resemblance to some Star Wars Rebels episodes; simple filler that doesn't mean jackshit.

Anyways, I thank everyone who managed to find the time and endurance to read a longer fanfiction, and I will see everyone in the finale of Remnant's Rebels. If anyone's confused by Karel and Bora got from Coruscant to Krownest, then please check out the side story to this: Remnant's Rebels: Karel's Story.

*In case anyone is curious, this 'Window Room' is a gateway towards infinite numbers of multiverses out there. For the ones featured here, this is the other of their appearance: This series' events, Jedi Hunter: The Second Great War (it's an interesting little fanfiction, let me tell you), Harry Potter (unfortunately, I took elements from both the book and the movie; it would be more trouble than it's worth to figure out to compress the book scenes while I do like them much better), Mega Man Zero, This is Spinal Tap (only because it's one of the best Hollywood productions ever), and Red vs. Blue. There are so many other universes that are awesome that I wanted to show, such as Stranger Things, Godzilla, and Avengers: Endgame, but I wanted to give everyone a taste of what this dimension can do and move on to the other parts of the story.


	10. Forgiveness

**2242 Coruscant Time**

 **Unknown Date; One Hour after Being Rescued from Sudden Death by Biting Cold**

 **Clan Wren Fortress**

 **Krownest**

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

* * *

"Here. Drink this; it helps with the cold."

Yang looks up at the Mandalorian, a young and nice-looking boy named Tristan Wren, gives her a thin metal cup of what seem to be warm tea. Nodding in gratitude, Yang takes a deep sip. The drink warms her body to its depths, and her shivering instantly dies down. The others are already mostly warmed up and ready to get going after some much-needed rest to absorb everything that's happened to them. Karel is also present in the room but standing in the corner and making sure everything's safe.

Sander walks back into the guest room, now wearing a plain set of Mandalorian armor with the helmet at his side and all pieces spray-painted dark gold. "Thank you, Mr. Wren."

"It's no trouble. We do what we can, and sometimes, have to scavenge for more. Besides, you seem like a warrior worthy of the armor." Tristan replies in a nonchalant, perhaps agitated, tone.

"I'm not that good." Sander waves off the compliment nonchalantly before sitting down; after all, he is only a seasoned Jedi possessing a clone of the Emperor that is enhanced with combat enhancements. Yang rolls her eyes in a playful manner before she comes to stare at Alan Temple, staring into his cup with a distant look. She takes a big swig to finish her glass, ignoring the burning sensation on her tongue, and makes her way towards the former Imperial soldier.

"Hey. How are you holding up?"

He looks at her with extreme sadness and deep frustration. "Well, I just found out that the man who gave me purpose in life turned out to be second worst thing to a pedophile who sucks ass at making up names, all of my squad and friends are missing likely dead aside from the likely faggot next to me." Cronut looks around confused. "And I've lost count of how many times I've come close to death. So yeah, I'm all peachy. How are you?"

Yang looks at him with patience, waiting for his rants to be done. She's already figured that interrupting him during it would only make things worse. "I know. Trust me, I do. I've been in these kinds of situations before. I've lost people I cared about, and sometimes when you lose, you just feel like giving up everything. It's not easy, but you just need to accept it happened and move on."

Temple stares at her. Of all the cheesy peptalks he was planning on interrupting, this one he didn't expect. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes. What's done is done now. All we can do is learn from those mistakes, and pay our respects to those who died. And right now, we have people trapped on a distant world who need our help. This is our chance to make those amends. Are you with me?"

The group stares at Yang with mild surprise, especially Tristan and Cronut, but Temple simply bursts out laughing. "Oh man. You're not the best at peppy speeches, but there were much worse told out there, I guarantee it." He then stares at her eyes. "You got yourself a deal, missy. But it's only because I want to have a rematch. I will not eat, sleep, or fuck until I've beaten you fair and square. I promise you that."

Cronut gasps before looking to Yang. "He's taking this very seriously. I can serve as an eye-witness to him keeping every promise he's made. One time, we walk into a bar, and…"

The pink-themed soldier rambles on with obscene levels of detail, much to his audience's discomfort, which Yang and Temple ignore and they talk about boxing matches and their favorite styles. Yang went through a huge wrestling fangirl phase before mellowing out considerably as she got into Beacon, and is a huge fan of the slugger style while Temple's style and preferences show that he is an out-boxer and they get into a bit of a fight as to which style is better.

Tristan is broken from the embarrassing story of how he slipped and saw stuff he isn't meant to see when the communication device attached to his wrist starts buzzing. His discomfort evaporates and he presses the button. "Everyone!" They are too busy in their own conversations that he takes out a blaster and fires it at the floor. That shut everyone up, and they stare at the Mandalorian soldier. "My mother wishes to see you all. We shall discuss this situation in Atollon in greater detail. If you would follow me."

Sander nods in acknowledgement, not wanting to garner distrust from their guests, who happen to be some of the deadliest fighters in the galaxy. He stands up and follows right behind him. Yang, not wanting to get separated in this station, sticks close behind Sander with Temple and Cronut following close behind, each in their own little worlds, followed by Karel, and Max bringing up the rear and looks around warily just in case. Tristan leads them past barracks and armories filled with rough-looking Mandalorians gearing up for whatever their mission is, and judging by the tired expressions or how worn their armor looks, they have been fighting non-stop for some time now. But in almost no time at all, they reach a large stone throne room with two lights on either side of a rather elegant painting of the head of the Wren clan, Ursa Wren and not only Sabine's but Tristan's mother, wearing grey Mandalorian armor with the helmet in her hands having a yellow streak stretching vertically across the forehead and checkers for some bizarre effect. The room is guarded by four armed Mandalorian troops who glare at the six guests passing by, but fail to say a word.

"Hello, Tristan." His mother says as the group reaches the throne room. Karel makes his way to Bora on the throne's left and looks up at her as the rest of the guests gather behind Tristan and another Mandalorian named Fenn Rau, with Ezra and his droid Chopper to their right and directly in front of the throne, which Ursa Wren is sitting on. "Now that everyone's here, let us discuss this new situation at hand." She then pushes a button on her right armrest, and a panel slides open to reveal a hidden device that instantly activates, and brings up an image of seven Star Destroyers in yellow lighting. What the hell is up with all the yellow in the station, and where do they get it from? Actually, scratch that; no one needs to know?

"Here's the problem. That Interdictor cruiser." Sabine starts, pointing towards a Star Destroyer in the back of the blockade over Atollon that is slicker and has four spheres sticking out top and bottom.

"If not for Commander Sato, there would be two." Ezra replies, looking grief-stricken. Sander's head snaps to Ezra in surprise; it was in that moment the commander earned some respect from the former Jedi.

"With Thrawn in command, you should count your losses and consider yourself fortunate to have escaped." Fenn Rau replies in a defeated tone. Yang grabs her arm to stop the slight shaking, but Max nods in acknowledgement.

Ezra glares at him, not taking that answer lying down. "Like I said, without your help, they're trapped."

Tristan looks slightly pained, but goes next. "I wish we could offer it. But we just don't have the resources. We can barely take care of our own."

"Are you shitting me? You guys have been raiding your enemies for months how. How are you still short?" Temple shouts in outrage while Cronut is bouncing to try and see the hologram. Ursa glares at him once he finishes, but returns to the matter at hand.

"If 'no' is your final answer, then we'll go back alone." Ezra answers with fury, to which Chopper actually beeps in agreement rather than being the asshole he usually is, especially to Penny. He then starts walking away from the throne room with the hologram deactivating. "Goodbye, Sabine." He adds coldly.

"You're not going alone." Sabine calls out, making Ezra stop in place.

"She's right." Sander replies stepping forward. Ursa glares heavily at Sander, seeing only the clone of the man she once served years ago. She tried to kill him at first sight, but thanks to some persuasion, she's reluctantly decided to give him a chance. "We're flying one of the most badass weapons the galaxy's ever seen. We can use it to help. Can I count on you guys?" He looks back at his friends.

Max nods while smiling and Yang gives a thumbs up. Temple stares at her and groans. "Fine. If she's coming with you, then I will too."

"Count me in!" Cronut shouts with enthusiasm.

"Forget that." Sabine adds, making Temple glare at her, "I'm going with you. They may have the technology to help, but for this, we need all the help we can get."

"I appreciate the loyalty you have for friends, Sabine, but this mission is impossible." Tristan states, trying to reason with his sister. Fenn Rau and Ursa stay silent and stare at the exchange with interest.

"I never thought I would be standing here with all of you. And I bet you never thought Clan Wren would be free from the grip of Gar Saxon. But we are. One thing I know is that my friends make the impossible possible. If Ezra thinks we can make a difference, then I believe him." Sabine finishes with finality. Cronut wipes a tear away while Temple rolls his eyes and the rest of the hall remains silent.

Tristan and Fenn share a look of understanding. But it is Ursa who breaks the silence. "Bridger and his friends restored my daughter to me, and that is a debt worth repaying." She then stands up from her throne, and walks down. "We cannot leave ourselves undefended, but you may take a few ships and any warriors who are willing."

"Thank you, mother." Sabine bows her head in gratitude at the unexpected generosity.

"You won't have much of an army to take down their blockade." Fenn says, hoping to stop this before it goes too far.

"Relax." Sander replies. "These guys are as stubborn as rocks. Nothing you say will persuade them otherwise." Fenn nods in agreement as Chopper then pulls up a much clearer image of the Interdictor cruiser.

"Maybe we don't need an army…" Sabine replies.

"You think?" Yang asks sarcastically.

After explaining the rather forward plan to everyone, the group breaks off and makes their way to the fighters. But before they do so, Karel steps forth. "Can I have a moment with my friend here?" Ursa nods, and Karel drags Sander to a quiet room so they can talk. "Sander, do you have any weapons on you?"

Sander feels at his sides, and realizes a harsh truth. "No. I left my sword at the Star Forge, and my lightsaber's toast."

Karel nods, then reaches into the depths of his overcoat and pulls out an ancient-looking lightsaber, resembling the Darksaber but looking even older than that and without the hilt on top to protect the hands from the blade. "No, I can't take your blade."

"This is the Dawnbringer, and it never belonged to me."

Sander stares at it with confusion yet familiarity. "I've heard the name somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it."

"This is your family's blade. This weapon belonged to Maxher Ray, a Jedi who served under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars. His loyalty was unquestioned and his blade slayed more Mandalorians than any other weapon in the war. This weapon was what inspired Tarre Vizsla to make the Darksaber. Since his death, it has been passed down from generation to generation until being entrusted to me. This rightfully belongs to you."

Sander takes the blade with a delicate touch, feeling the worn leather of the handle in his palm, and being long enough to easily grip it with two hands. Pressing a button where his thumb is, he stares in greater awe at the four-feet long orange blade, thin and curved almost exactly like the sword he used in the Battle of the Forge. Despite it not feeling familiar to him like Star Blaster did, this weapon still feels good in his hands. Letting go of one hand, he swings the blade behind him and chopping a tin cup in half. "I f… I like this thing." He states before deactivating the blade.

"You're not cursing like you used to." Karel pointed out.

Sander lets out a sigh then stretches a little. "No, I'm not. I've been thinking about it, and really what good does it do?" He then looks to his friend. For some reason, he feels like this is the last time they will see each other. "Anyway, I'm going to T-Ghidorah and then kicking some serious… no, I'll show them whose boss." He then walks forward and hugs him tightly before pulling away. "If this is it, goodbye, Karel."

He simply nods. "Goodbye, friend."

Together, they leave the room and makes their way back to the main group. "Right. Come along, now." One of the Mandalorian troops says, with Max, Yang, Temple, and Cronut waiting for him already.

Sander smiles slightly before hanging Dawnbringer at his side. He then follows the Mandalorian out into the cold, and he leads them to a transport. The pilots get themselves seated in the back as the soldier then activates the transport and takes them back to their machine. It seems like no time had passed whatsoever before their ride stops and the side panel slides open, letting the cold air in. "We're here." They step out and make their way to T-Ghidorah, half-buried under the snow from the earlier blizzard which has now died off. They then make their way to the hatches, one on the side of the main body and a circular hatch on top of the area where the neck meets the head. To their horror, their hatches are frozen in place.

"Well, this sucks." Cronut states while Temple screams in frustration. Sander looks at the body and gets an idea. He then presses his hand against the hatch and summons fire to warm the surface. As hoped, it doesn't damage the outer metal but melts the ice so he can enter. The warmth carries across the entire surface and within a minute, the mech is warmed up and can be entered with ease.

"I'm going to need some aspirin after this." Temple mutters as he steps forward and gets himself settled in the central panel. They get themselves seated in their respective seats and start activating the war machine.

Due to the cold, it takes several minutes before it fully powers up, but when it does, the cold stood no chance, and automatic heaters kicked in. The ice cracks and shards fall to the ground as the heads are clumsily lifted up and stare to the overcast skies. The wings flap up and down three times before the main thruster activates, sending T-Ghidorah over the edge. The wind falls under its wings, and with some skill and crushing of trees, it lifts back up into the sky and flies towards the atmosphere, clouds flowing past them with abnormal speeds. The mech reaches space before being surrounded by eight Mandalorian fighters. One of them is larger than the others and completely red while the other seven Fang fighters are grey with yellow outlining.

The tail nearly swats one of the fighters aside before straightening out and the wings stop slapping. "Activating Beamspace. Hold on!" Temple's voice speaks over the comm and the mech rockets forward as a portal forms before them. They fly through, and come out to an eyesore.

The red planet that serves as home for Chopper Base is surrounded on two fronts by Star Destroyers. One on the front, and one on the opposite end. "There. If anyone's going to have a chance of escaping, it's through the backside. Let's take it to them." Cronut exclaims.

"Prepare to fucking die!" Temple shouts, with excitement for the first time as they make their way to the other fleet. The Star Destroyers take notice and try to bring their weapons to them as they quickly approach.

Sander then notices a yellow button on his right with a lightning button in the top. Having a good idea as to what that means, he brings his head towards one Star Destroyer's bridge and presses the button. Sure enough, his head's mouth opens wide and a thin stream of electricity courses through space. While it starts dissipating by the time it hits the ship, it causes the ship to shut down completely. "Not bad! Hit them… now!"

Sander pushes the button again once they get close to the six Star Destroyers, but it doesn't work. In fact, a single dreaded word flashes on his screen, 'Recharging…' Fortunately, Yang and Max fire simultaneously and hit the bridges of the disabled ship. It explodes from the sudden electrical overload and the ship ultimately blows up as well. "Yeah! That got them!" Cronut shouts.

"I can't fire anymore!" Yang shouts in panic. "How long does it need to recharge?"

"One minute! Nuclear reactors need fucking time to work, after all!" Temple shout as T-Ghidorah ducks and swerves through the remaining ships and past masses of green lasers. One bridge's shield generator is destroyed by the tail as it passes by, but otherwise the stalemate progresses.

"Ready!" Max shouts.

"All set!" Yang adds.

"Let's rock." Sander finishes, the weapons having fully recharged. T-Ghidorah then rockets toward the top, getting hit by laser fire but the Mandalorian Steel holding up perfectly. Instantly, three beams of electricity fly towards their respective targets and hit the bridges of the ships. They either explode or deactivate, leaving them helpless. In fact, the last remaining Star Destroyer barrels towards them while smashing through the deactivated ship.

"Oh, you want to fight?" Temple asks in challenge. "Well, I do too."

"You're insane!" Max shouts in protest, but T-Ghidorah charges toward the Star Destroyer as well. They pass through the energy shield and smash through the bridge and the Star Destroyer as fast as they can, tearing the top from the bottom. The wings spread apart, slightly torn but still intact. If it could, the mech would roar in triumph right here.

"Let's go save your friends!" The mech then starts making its way towards the planet, where a black storm cloud seems to be gathering at one particular spot. Strange… The mech starts flying towards the surface, but the atmosphere is strongly charged with electricity, with lightning dancing all around them.

" **You… You are not like the other Jedi who tried to drag me into this fight."** A voice muses with clear interest.

"Overheating. Got to…" Sander cuts off his ability to hear and listens to the voice.

"Who are you?"

" **I am the balance between light and darkness. You understand what it's like to walk both sides. I shall let you and your ship leave. Good luck, Sander Blanco."**

"Wait!" Sander shouts as the pressure in his head disappears completely. Suddenly, the mech starts shaking back and forth and everything seems to die. "What's happening?"

"We just got hit while letting heat out!" Yang replies with worry in her voice.

"Then why do I feel like things are about to get worse?"

"Because our reactor's damaged, dumbass!" Temple shouts back with panic clearly in his voice. "Hang on! We're going to go down hard!" The mech then completely starts free-falling towards the planet with the belly facing downward. "Come on, come on…" He mutters trying to activate the engine again. Soon, the ground appears below them and growing clearer by the second. Suddenly, the engine activates. "Yes!" He activates it, and with what little energy is left, he rockets the mech forward with the heads dangling below them. "Can't let them die." He then flips it onto its back as the ground quickly approaches and they crash down. Hard. They start sliding and the metal scraping against the rock, while muffled, is the most awful thing they've heard. After a few bumps, it comes to a complete stop.

"Well, I don't think we'll be doing that ride again." Max quips while holding his head. He forces his way out of his seat and slides down to the ground. Sander and Temple get out shakily but maintain some balance. Yang and Cronut, on the other hand, are queasy beyond belief and Cronut even pukes his snack out after a moment.

"Anyone got any bones sticking out that could cause fatal bleeding?" Temple asks, looking around. "Good. Let's go."

"No. Wait." Sander states, going still and listening carefully. There is a battle going on, and not too far away either. "We need to help those people. Follow me." He then carefully walks around the mech towards the source of the battle, only to find that two AT-ATs are toppled over and on fire since they fell on top of some jagged rocks.

"I guess it just goes to show that mechs are badass." Yang states, not believing how unbelievably unlucky those walkers were. After taking in the sight, Sander leads them through the brush of tall rough structures resembling fossilized plants and kept on going before reaching a small canyon. Sander looks down, and to his horror, the canyon is filled with bodies. The Atlas spider drone is torn apart and Atlesian Knights are lying around in pieces. A dozen Atlas troops are using the spider drone's remains to hide from the stormtroopers that start swarming them; at least a hundred stormtroopers are marching forward. But what is keeping the troops pinned is the AT-ST marching forward.

"Temple. Hit the walker. Everyone else, with me." Temple nods silently and after they start climbing down into the valley, pulls out the sniper rifle from his side and points it at the port hole. He pulls the trigger and the thin plasma beam penetrates the protective glass and hits the pilot. The walker starts shaking violently and collapses on its side, crushing a squad of stromtroopers underneath. One by one, he picks off the stormtroopers before they notice and pull out their own sniper rifles and firing back. One sniper is better than the others, making Temple hide back behind cover.

Meanwhile, Sander and his companions, reach the bottom and start raining death upon the troops. Sander activates Dawnbringer and slashes left and right, knocking them down with ease. One trooper ducks under the slash and tries to hit him from behind but Yang punches him hard. This sends the trooper forward and breaking his back in the process. Another trooper ducks out from behind cover and tries to hit her, but his head is blown off. Yang notices and looks up at Temple, who simply nods. She gives him a thumbs up and continues.

Max and Cronut then start working together by working through the masses and towards the Atlas troops, who look up at them with surprise. "Oh, what a joy. Nice of you to show up." Boomstick states sarcastically while getting himself up.

"Do you have any balls I can handle?" Cronut asks, much to the soldier's confusion.

"Yes. Right here." He then opens a box next to them and gives Cronut a belt with grenades on them.

"Thanks!" He slings it over his head and pulls one out before chucking them out.

"Run away. Run away!" One stormtrooper shouts with the rest of the troops following close behind while the Atlas troops pick off as many people as possible. Temple takes his time, but makes his way to the bottom of the valley.

"Clear." The troops drop their weapons and get some much-needed respite.

"Is everyone okay?" Sander asks, walking into sight. The troops look at him with confusion.

"Who the hell are you, kid?" Boomstick asks coldly.

"It's me, Sander Blanco, registered huntsman and former leader of Team SPAM. You were reading a copy of Madness magazine when it dabbled into how to perform BDSM with your partner." The troops look at him, and Boomtsick is left speechless.

"What happened?" He asks hesitantly.

"Some cyberpunk-like technology transferred me into a new body." Sander replies, not wanting to explain Salem and the more supernatural elements.

"Right…" He replies, not quite believing him but dropping it regardless.

"Where's the _Vytal_?" Max asks, looking around cautiously.

"It's in a secret cavern back at base. The other troops are scattered around the fields, trying to fight against the forces. We've already lost Ringmaster and half of our forces to their numbers."

"But we punched a hole in their blockade. If we can time it right, we can leave."

"And where the fuck will we go then?"

"…Home."

That stops any form of bickering left. "What?" Yang asks, not sure if she heard right.

"Yang, when we were on Lothal, I found something else aside from these two. I found the map that we need to get back. And with Thrawn pushing all of the Imperial forces into this battle, we can slip away and leave them behind. What do you say, Captain?"

Everyone looks to Sander expectantly. He stares at each one of them before sighing slightly. "Boomstick, call all our forces. Tell them to get back to the ship and take everything they can with them."

"Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that you aren't coming with us?" Temple asks accusingly.

Sander shakes his head. "Those Imperials could be back, in greater numbers. I will buy you all the time I can. Okay?" Many agree to the plan while others protest loudly, though they agree to work with the plan in the end. "Good luck. Our time is almost done. Go!"

The group complies, getting out from behind cover after gathering everything they can, and making their way through the canyon towards their destination. Sander stares at the retreating figures before his face hardens and he turns around, staring at the stormtrooper army charging toward him. Sander closes his eyes and concentrates on his more inactive powers. It is much weaker than alone, but the power is still there and good enough for what he has in mind.

Summoning the power, the magic swirls around his blade before letting it loose into the canyon walls. It takes some of his magical energy, but he completely destroys the wall and crushes a good third of the reinforced army. "That will teach you to mess with me." He then activates his lightsaber and charges forward. The stormtroopers start firing on him.

"Kill the Jedi! For Onderon!" One trooper shouts before getting out a rocket launcher and firing it at him. Sander jumps the rocket and starts hacking apart stormtroopers. One of them throws his blaster away and punches Sander in the face, but he barely fazed and cuts him in half after cutting off his arm. On and on, it goes before the leader is left.

"Take this!" He then pulls out a lightsaber and activates the blue blade. "I pulled this from the corpse of a Jedi. You stand no chance!"

Sander growl and charges forward. While he certainly has trained with it, he's much too stiff. He blocks the horizontal slash and headbutts the man. He recoils and Sander tries to attack him, leaving a burn in both thighs. The stormtrooper withstands the pain and prepares to attack again, but then stops. "What's…" He then grips his head tightly before screaming in absolute agony. He then turns to black smoke before floating into the black sky.

The Jedi looks around carefully, knowing exactly what's going on. "Sander!" He then turns around and Cronut is making his way to him, holding up some grenades. "I want to help! Take these balls and show them…" His grenades fall to the ground as his hands start turning to smoke. "What the f…" He then disappears into thin air.

Sander looks around with Dawnbringer's orange blade glowing brightly against the darkening sky. "I know you're out there. Come on out, Salem."

He then dodges to the side as a meteor crashes to where he was standing. "You've improved." He looks behind him and stares at the witch, who is still possessing his body but looking more and more like the Salem he knows.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you keep attacking me?" Sander demands over the clapping of thunder and lightning crashing down all around them.

Salem chuckles darkly. "You mortals have no idea what true immortality is like. You live long enough to see everything you know and love turn sour and rotten. Nothing is eternal, and the world must be destroyed in order for a new world to emerge. A better world."

"So you're an idealist?" Sander asks sarcastically. "But that doesn't explain why you keep targeting me. I know you want to bring this about by summoning the brother gods back to Remnant and judging them. So why haven't you gone back yet?"

Salem smirks at him. "Why don't you find out yourself?" She then charges forward and tries to punching him in the solar plexus. Sander sidesteps and slashes up. Salem zips back and lands safely.

"You're dead to me!" Sander shouts by throwing the sword forward. She ducks under but Sander pulls the blade back and performs a spinning attack, grazing her back. She turns around and while healed, she smiles.

"Good. That's the spirit!" She then leaps back and two blood red glyphs form around her wrists. She punches the ground and an Alpha Ursa appears behind him. Lightning crackles loudly overhead violently, but passes. Sander remembers the spell she performed and performs it similarly. Behind, an Alpha Beowulf with golden eyes appears and the two Grimm clash.

Salem summons a sword to her hand and slashes at him. While talented, it's clear that she isn't as skilled as Sander in combat. He deflects the slash and gives her more wounds, which heal instantly and a grinning Salem presses on.

This doesn't make sense to Sander. She seems to be getting more adrenaline after each strike. Almost like she's a masochist of extreme degrees. But why would she enjoy…

The two continue their duel with the Grimm still going strong. However, Sander's mind is flooded with thoughts and possibilities, but what he keeps coming back to is his mother throwing herself into the pool of darkness. She did it to kill herself, but like everything, it didn't work. Just like everything else she tried.

Soon, a possibility occurs to Sander's mind, and the momentary paused allows Salem to lock blade, drop low then give Sander an uppercut. He lands back on his feet. His Aura waning already. Of all the fights he's had, this is easily the toughest one.

In fact, he has only one shot at ending the fight. If this doesn't work, he will eventually lose and die; everyone on this planet will follow suit.

The two continue clashing with Salem catching the blade with her hand. "Hey, Salem. Your magic sucks so bad, you belong at tea parties!"

"What." Salem hisses, anger welling up inside of her.

"Oh wait. Not even that. I think that you're only good for showing the bikers a good time. Unless you'd like to prove me wrong? If you ask me, you're a spoilt brat whose daddy didn't tuck her into bed enough."

Salem, by now, is seething with anger and black flames erupt around her. Sander can't help but gulp on the inside; now he's done it. "You want magic? I'll show you power! I'll show you that I'm inevitable!" She then summons a new glyph in hand, with ancient runes on the outside and an eye inside. "Goodbye, Sander!" Just then, the Bendu decided to intervene and struck her with lightning.

The sudden attack destroys both Grimm and leaves Salem still for a few seconds, but that is all Sander needs to pump his Aura out as magic and create a new spell. By the time she fully recovers, she is bound by her hands and feet before falling backward. She struggles tightly against the bonds as Sander walks over, keeping the blade activated just in case. "I know why you've stayed in this galaxy." She then looks at him with mild surprise. "You have been through a lot in your long life, and you stayed here in the hopes of finding what you've always wanted. You gave up on your quest to find the Relics, and remained here in the hopes of finally dying. And you found it."

That makes Salem surprised for the first time in a long time. "What?"

"Hold on. And don't try using your magic." He then makes a deep cut on his body's shoulder, yet the wound remains. "It's as I hoped. Your soul may be immortal, but this body you possess isn't. In fact, it doesn't last any less mortal than a normal one."

Salem stares at him, with hope starting to form on her face. "I can kill this body, and then I'd stay dead?"

Sander nods. "However, I don't think the brothers will like that. They'll just send you to a new body and you'll have to start over again. What you need to do is let go. You can't change the order of the universe, so you roll with the changes and accept it for what it is."

Salem looks up at him, hate filling her eyes. "This order is corrupt and cruel! Everything good in this universe is taken and twisted into something monstrous. I will not stand by and let them destroy it all!"

"No, life isn't fair." Sander answers. "But you take you can get and work with it to make things as good as they can be. Look at you, you're a crazy mass-murderer responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. But you're still my mom, and nothing will change that I do care about you. If I can accept that, you can too."

Salem looks at him, absolutely speechless. It seems like a cloud lifts from her mind and she smiles slightly. "Okay. I accept it."

Sander then smiles down at Salem, tears in his eyes. "Thank you. Goodbye, Salem." Then to his horror, she breaks from the binding spell containing her before hugging him tightly.

"Goodbye, Sander. Don't let life get you down." Salem lets go and looks at him with pride.

"I won't." He then stands up and starts walking away. Salem looks behind her and finds some stormtroopers trying to climb over the cliffside. She gets into a battle stance and prepares to fight.

Sander starts climbing over bundles of rocks as he continues down the small canyon that the rebellion completely overlooked. He steps over smoldering wrecks and corpses as he follows the Force to the base, all while lightning starts crackling in the air and striking certain points. Judging by the explosions that happen, some ships were caught on the receiving end.

Eventually, he follows the corpses to a cave where Yang is standing out front and looking around. "Hot shot! Come on!" She shouts, panic on every inch of her face. He reaches the mouth of the cave and dives through just as lightning strikes the top of the mountain where the cave digs into, and rocks start toppling to completely close the cave.

"No going back now." Sander states while Yang chuckles. She then activates a flashlight at her side and leads him through the tunnels.

"This way. Pick up the pace." She then leads him through the cave system. Occasionally, they are met with a black-armored stormtrooper, but Sander takes them down, with Yang taking down two Death Troopers who get too close. Soon, they reach the _Vytal_ , docked in a secret docking bay underground with the last troops loading up and getting ready to go. "Wait for us!" They hit the docking bay as everything rocks around them. The group then reach the bridge of the ship as it lifts off the ground and flies out of a private opening and into the sky. The Bendu keeps its word to Sander and the lightning strikes deliberately miss the ship.

"What kind of weather is this?" Roberts mumbles as he continues his job. He then notices a flashing button at his station. "Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the _Ghost_!"

"Put it through." Sander orders as the _Vytal_ leaves the atmosphere. The holographic image of Hera and Kanan wearing his green visor over his eyes appears.

"Captain Blanco. You're really alive." Hera states with surprise in her voice, but looking pleased nonetheless. "Form ranks. We need your weapons!" Hera looks desperate as sparks fly in the cockpit; it seems that the Bendu hit them hard.

Sander shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Captain Sendulla. There are still Imperial ships out in space. We need to draw their attention away if you have any chances of escaping. If we survive, then we'll come looking for you."

Silence fills the bridge for a moment before Kanan speaks up. "Good luck, Sander. May the Force be with you."

If Kanan knew of Sander's intentions, he didn't let them on. He feels like this is the last time he will see his friend alive, and nods while looking sad. "You too, Caleb." The transmission cuts off and Sander wipes the tears away. The clouds seem to vanish below them, meaning that the Bendu has been defeated. "Come on. Let's show them whose boss." The _Vytal_ then soars into space while blowing past the Star Destroyer blockade. The Mandalorians did a good job on taking the Interdictor down as it is partially destroyed with blue currents of electricity crackling around it. "Open fire!" The newly upgraded laser guns start firing upon the nearest Star Destroyer's energy field generators. The generators are destroyed and without the bridge, the ship is hanging in the air dead. Another ship breaks off from the blockade and tries to intercept them, but the _Vytal_ turns and starts moving in the opposite direction, keeping low so as to avoid the turbolasers.

"What do we do?" Max asks, looking panicked.

"No. We don't enter Beamspace yet." Sander replies. The ship continues on and on, pulling the ship with them. As soon as they are a thousand kilometers from the planet, he shouts. "Now! Take us to Remnant!" The officers comply and within seconds, the portal appears, though this one seems to be warped and irregular. In desperation, the Star Destroyer tries following close behind to sneak through the portal, but the ship is simply too large to fit through.

As the _Vytal_ makes it through the wormhole, the ship following behind start to slip through but only the tip makes it with the rest severed off. The main ship starts floating in space near Atollon, trying to solve the sudden breach in life support systems. The rest, however, floats helplessly with the survivors trying to find life support systems, but failing. Both ships find themselves on the edge of an asteroid belt. "Ainsworth, take us out of this belt."

"Yes, sir." Chili Ainsworth, the redhead who is the new navigations officer, replies and pushes them through, but slow enough to where the asteroids simply bounce off the ship harmlessly, leaving the survivors of the Star Destroyer to their own devices. Soon, they make their way out and bear witness to a planet they've wanted to see for the longest time.

"We're home." Sure enough, the starship starts getting closer and closer to the planet.

They start progressing towards the planet, specifically the continent known as Sanus. "Hey, look! I see some islands!" A soldier points out in awe. Sure enough, there is a small chain of islands that seems to be several hundred miles to the west of Vacuo.

"That tells you something." Max states, looking at the planet. "We need to know our own planet before daring to venture to others."

"A wise assessment." Ainsworth replies as they continue travelling further and further thorugh space to home.

But as they pass through the atmosphere and towards the ground, the trouble begins again. "Everyone! We have a problem!" Wizard shouts, storming onto the bridge as they pass through the atmosphere. "I don't know how, but our landing gear is not responding!"

"What!" Yang shouts with annoyance.

"It isn't. And our engines are failing too." Sure enough, the ship starts slowing down considerably.

"Hold on to something!" Sander shouts as the ship starts drifting into a straight nosedive.

"Wait. I think I remember something." Ainsworth then stands up and she presses several buttons on her screen. "A-ha! How could I have forgotten? Activate our spare wings!"

"Of course." Another officer replies, then presses several buttons on his station. Sure enough, the wings given to them by Mistral unfold and the ship starts leveling off instantly. "Hey, we're still falling too fast!"

"Brace for impact!" Sander shouts, moving towards the limited space between the top of the bridge and the stations. The same goes for Max while Yang hangs on for dear life and the officers buckle in.

Soon, the ship starts reaching the ground and scrapping the bottom before being jolted to a stop. Everyone lurches forward, with those not being buckled in flying around and smashing to the ground again. "Ugh, that hurt. Hey, Max? You okay?" Sander call out.

"I'm here." He replies before groaning.

"Good. Remind me never to get on another spaceship for the rest of my life."

He laughs slightly as Sander pulls himself up. "Everyone okay?" He shouts. While mixed with lots of groans and some broken bones, no one seemed to die in the crash. He then finds Yang as she's standing up and brushing herself off. "Are you okay?"

She looks up and smiles. "Never better."

"Stupid…door!" Wizard grinds out while using his power tools to open the emergency hatch. One by one, the troops step out to the familiar world they are back on and look around. Wiz takes notice of the ruins and realizes they had crash-landed at Mountain Glenn, which means that Grimm should be nearby.

"Sander?" Yang asks, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"You okay?" He asks again. She nods.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize that you were under the influence of a crazy witch. When you died, all I could think about was how to get you back. All I could think about was how much I love you."

He looks into her eyes before giving her a quick kiss. "If anyone should be apologizing for how things went, it should be me. If it makes you feel better, you were the only reason I managed to survive at all. Thank you."

Yang giggles slightly. "Come on, before things start getting too serious."

"You can say that again." Taking her hand, they walk out of the ship. But the second they step out, a loud and very familiar growl meets their ears.

"You've got to be fucking joking." He groans out. They all look up and sure enough, a Beowulf is standing on top of the ship while looking down at him hungrily. It lunges to try and eat them, but it is then hit from the side of the head. It dissipates into dust. Another one lunges from the shadows, but freezes. A figure traveling at blinding speed rips its weapon off its back and slices its head off before landing.

Yang looks to the source and her eyes widen with shock. "Ruby?"

Ruby Rose, in a new outfit that resembles her old one, but shows a small rebellious streak* looks to Yang and she too looks stunned. Folding up her weapon, she hugs Yang tightly. "Oh, Yang. I've missed you so much. You were gone for a year, and we all thought you died. That was so hard to get over, and I became a great huntress, but oh, I missed you so much!"

Yang hugs her step-sister back. "I missed you too, Ruby. I thought about you every night."

Ruby then pulls away and looks at Yang's golden hands. "Yang? What happened to those hands?"

"And when did you stop being so awkward?" Sander replies with a slight smirk on his face.

Ruby looks to him and nods her head. "I'm so glad to see you all are alright, and not another ship hijacked by the Red Fang." The soldiers then look out to see a group of four people looking at them curiously. "Oh, that's Team RDNK, a team that was formed just this year. They're following me, can you believe it?"

"Ruby," Yang says, "We have a lot to catch up on." Soon, the other emergency hatches open up and the rest of the crew steps out before cheering loudly in triumph. Why shouldn't they? They are back home.

* * *

Sander Blanco sits on the edge of a clearing, cross-legged and getting some rest. From out of the tree line surrounding the clearing, a silent figure sneaks up behind him with a long knife in hand. He opens one eye, smirking, and waits for the strike that comes. He grabs the arm and flips the girl over his shoulders to the ground. "Topaz. You shouldn't extend your knife out like that."

The girl smirks and twists herself out of his grasp and tries stabbing it at his face, but he grabs her arm. She lets go and tries to slash his knees, but he grabs the blade swinging low. "Not bad. That was a bit too slow to work effectively, but you're getting much better." He then pulls his daughter back to her feet before grabbing her hat and straightening it out.

Topaz Xiao Long-Blanco is a very pretty girl about Yang's height with mid back-length blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, deep green eyes, and pale skin. She is wearing a wide-brimmed brown hat with a red flannel shirt, khaki short shorts, and brown elbow-high gloves, and brown boots with silver spurs on the back finishing the look off. "Aw, shucks. I will beat you one day, just you wait." She says in challenge. For reasons no one can understand, she managed to pick up a light southern accent and she wears the accent like a badge of honor.

"You're getting closer." The two looks to the source and see Topaz's mother, and Sander's wife. Despite being married for 21 years, mere months after returning to Remnant on the _Vytal_ , Yang Xiao Long still looks beautiful in Sander's eyes. The 44-year old woman is now wearing a yellow shirt with the image of four men on the front and 'Achieve Men' printed on top in green lettering, khaki pants that reach her ankles, and her golden hands gleaming in the sunlight. Despite logistics and growing up, along with some very reluctant haircuts at times, she still keeps her hair at waist length. "Come on home, honey, and get cleaned up. We'll be leaving soon."

"Oh! Right." Topaz replies, so caught up with training and almost beating her dad that she forgot today was the day she begins her journey to becoming a huntress. She then helps Sander back onto her feet. The family then make their way through the clearing and along the mulch trail back to their home, a humble two-story house with a deck at the front entrance with two rocking chairs and a table. Together, they walk through the deck and inside home. The inside is clean yet homey, with a clean kitchen and an indoor grill with the lid and pipe to let smoke out. On its left is a large living room, with a leather couch and two equally leather chairs facing a large TV screen placed over a dead fireplace. As Topaz is about to walk up the wooden staircase in front of them, she stops. "Is Alan going to make it?"

Sander and Yang look at each other uncomfortably. "I'm sure your brother will make it." Yang says.

"Well, see you in a bit." With that, Topaz goes upstairs and takes a shower. Yang and Sander sit down and look at each other.

"Are you sure you should have told her that?" Sander asks with concern.

Yang looks frustrated. "I don't know! He's always been at work for the last few months. He hasn't even sent us any messages!"

Sander lets out another sigh. "He's always been running off and doing his own thing, but ever since Zinfandel died…" He clenches his fist before letting it go.

Yang nods, just as troubled. Their first child is Alan Xiao Long-Blanco, named after the man who saved Yang's life on Atollon. He took down a dozen stormtroopers, beating Yang in kill count, before finally falling. Alan had two siblings, a little brother named Zinfandel, and Topaz. Alan may have Sander's hair and build, but Yang's eyes and headstrong mentality. Unlike his family, he's always been interested in being an officer of the Vale Police Force and working as a detective. But when Zinfandel as an infant died in a failed burglary, the family was devastated, with Alan feeling the worst; that grief only made him more determined than ever. When he joined the police force, his determination and ability to blend in to many environments greatly impressed his superior, Chief Mormont. So much so that he was one of the first people put onto the Death Seeker unit; a unit dedicated to tracking down Huntsmen or Huntresses who go rogue for any reason**. Topaz, the youngest child in the family, looks the closest to their mother and wants to make her family proud by becoming a great Huntress to make them proud.

After some time passes, Topaz comes back down the stairs, putting her beloved hat on and buttoning up her shirt. "Well? Let's go! Come on!" She states happily before walking out the door. Yang looks at her daughter with amusement before walking out the door, followed by Sander. They make their way to the shed separate from the main home, and once the door opens, step inside the red Stallion muscle car. It was an expensive purchase, but two full-time Hunters can make a shitload of money. They leave the residence and travel down the small road towards the small coastal town named Magnum, with the closest town being Patch. They make their way through the streets before reaching the Bullhead that will take Topaz to Beacon Academy.

"How do you think Oscar's going to do, now that he's headmaster?" Topaz asks during the short drive.

Yang ponders the question. Not too long ago, Ozpin passed away from old age, and Sander can only hope that the aged wizard can finally have peace. "He's a good man. Otherwise, I would have beaten him senseless before he got away with Ruby." Sander and Topaz start laughing loudly at that, and Yang even chuckles herself. Oscar is so nice that the mere thought of him being that kind of person is laughable.

"Well, we're going to find out soon." Sander adds as they reach the Bullhead station in the center of Magnum, and pulling off to the side. Only one other vehicle is there, and standing out front of the open hatch is Topaz's grandfather, grandmother, and grand-uncle, all of whom have some aging and Tai having complete grey hair, but still look young for their ages.

"Hi there!" Topaz shouts, leaving her duffle in the car and tackling Tai while Yang brings the bags onto the Bullhead before she and her husband meet the family. Qrow chuckles at the sight and while Raven looks slightly annoyed, she still looks happy regardless. "How are you?"

"We're good, and ready to see you off. I remember when I first was a student." Tai looks up at the sky dreamily.

"Yes. You puked on my shoes." Qrow mumbles bitterly.

Tai rubs the back of his head while Topaz looks at each of them. "You have someone else who wants to see you." Raven adds before gesturing to the side of the ship. Topaz looks at the sight and the man taller than her with disheveled black hair, dark jeans, and a brown overcoat. Sander and Yang look shocked while Topaz gasps and looks ecstatic. "Alan!"

The man steps out from the shadows and gives her a tight hug. He then looks at her kindly. "Look at you, all grown up."

"But… how are you here?"

"I wanted to surprise you. Besides, since I finished up the murder on the new ultra-submarine, I have found myself with some unexpected free time."

"How's Aunt Ruby and Garnet doing? And Adam?"

Alan looks a bit troubled but lets it go. Ruby and Oscar's only child, a daughter named Garnet, is the same age as Topaz and will be joining Beacon at the same time as she is. Another childhood friend of hers and also of the same age is Adam Wukong, son of the new chieftess of Menagerie, Blake and her husband Sun. It's clear to Alan that his little sister is smitten with the black-haired monkey faunus, but that's her choice. "Garnet's doing well. Just excited to be on the same team as you. Adam's also looking forward to seeing you again."

Topaz blushes at the part with Adam, but then sighs in slight exasperation. "I've told her not to hold her breath on that. But she's too stubborn." She then looks around and smiles at her family. "Thank you, so much, for letting me come as far as I have. Without you, I'd be lost." She walks back to her parents and kisses them on the cheek. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. See you on Winter Solstice."

"Don't forget to call us every day!" Sander calls out, but Yang gently swats his arm.

"Don't listen to him. Just have fun, and kick some ass for me."

"Of course. Goodbye!" She then steps onto the Bullhead. After a minute, the hatch closes up and the Bullhead lifts off the ground, hovers in the air, then flies off to Vale and a new year at Beacon Academy. The family stares at the ship leaving.

Sander stares at the ship leaving the town behind for a long moment. Tai then looks to his daughter and son-in-law. "Can we come over to your house for some tea? We haven't gotten to talk in a long time."

"Of course, Dad." Yang's broken from her stupor, then gets back into the Stallion car with Sander driving back home, with the rest of the family getting into the minivan and pursuing them along the country roads, while the sun starts peaking over the ocean, for a new adventure has just begun.

* * *

 _AN:_ It's all over. :(

Unfortunately, this is where I leave everyone with an end to not only Remnant's Rebels, but Fanfiction in general while I move on and pursue other ventures in life. While I might give sporadic updates to the Death Battle story, they will be few and far between at best.

I thank everyone for tuning into this story, and I am so thankful to everyone who took the time out to see it through.

If you wish for more, you can check out Dragonzlayerx12's works and his side of the overarching story that was established.

Once again, thank you very much, and I bid you Au revior!

*This is Ruby Rose's outfit in RWBY V6.

**Yes, this is a Blade Runner reference. Like is my tribute to Rutger Hauer. Rest in peace.


End file.
